


All Seoul's Street

by PunsAndRoses



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - All Saints Street, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angels, Demons, F/F, Gen, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28524123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunsAndRoses/pseuds/PunsAndRoses
Summary: A vampire, a werewolf, an angel, and a demon walk into a bar. Just another Friday evening. |or, the MMM x All Saint's Street au that absolutely no one asked for.
Relationships: Ahn Hyejin | Hwasa & Jung Wheein, Ahn Hyejin | Hwasa & Jung Wheein & Kim Yongsun | Solar & Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul, Kim Yongsun | Solar/Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul, OT4 friendship centric
Comments: 59
Kudos: 191





	1. Room 1031

**Author's Note:**

> No prior knowledge of All Saint's Street is needed in order to understand this fic although if you wanted to know a little more about it [this link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gkpn2yN5dog/) and [this link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints_Street) should be enough help!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new life in the city can be scary!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are possibly dozens of MMM Supernatural AUs out there but most of them are really dramatic and angsty and I was hoping for something a little light. The result is me mixing my favorite kpop group with my current favorite Chinese webtoon!
> 
> This will be a series of non-sequential, non-chronological, slice of life one shots about all their lives as supernatural beings just living in Seoul so if you have any fun prompts, drop a comment and I'll most probably write about it!

The sun had already set by the time the taxi dropped her off at the apartment building. She mumbled a soft thanks as the driver helped her unload her two bags unto the sidewalk and then bowed deeply as the driver got back into his cab and drove away into the growing darkness.

Early winter in Seoul meant that even without a stiff breeze, the chill would sting at your face and your fingers if you weren’t bundled up well. Hyejin adjusted the face mask against her nose and fished out the flyer tucked away in the pocket of her down jacket.

The address on it was correct, with thick, block, letters advertising a room available for renting pending an interview with the landlord and the other flatmates. She stuffed it back into her jacket and fished out her phone to tell the landlord she was outside.

To their credit, the reply came instantly, around the same time as the intercom by the front door of the building buzzed to life.

“Ahn Hyejin-ssi?” A tinny voice came from the speakers, muffled by static. Hyejin quickly grabbed her bags and jogged over. She pressed at the button that would allow her to talk. “Yes, that’s me.” Hyejin said, hoping her voice was clear enough through the face mask.

“Good.” The voice replied. By now Hyejin could tell that it was female. “Sorry I can’t meet you down there, I’ve kind of got tied up here, but come on up. 10th floor.” There was a slightly deeper voice in the background shouting for something that sounded like a clear plastic bottle. More yelling and then the sound cut out from the intercom entirely. The door hadn’t been buzzed open.

Hyejin waited for a few minutes before debating on whether or not to press the talk button and ask when the intercom crackled. “Sorry.” The female voice said again, sounding sheepish even through the static, there was laughter in the background now, “Buzzing the door open now.”

Once she heard the telltale click of the lock sliding, she pushed at the heavy glass of the door with her back as she dragged her luggage through the entrance. When it swung shut and automatically locked behind her, it trapped all the cold out with it as well.

The elevator ride up was quick, albeit a bit cramped. With her luggage in the elevator with her, there was only room for maybe one more person. One extremely thin person. Still Hyejin bounced on the balls of her feet with excitement. This was her first time living in the city and she was determined to make the best of it. 

When she got off at the 10th floor, it was to the site of a nondescript hallway, linoleum floors, and a smattering of identical doors on either wall. Hyejin fished out the flyer again to check for the room, and began walking. The rattle of her luggage’s wheels against the tiles was a comforting presence in the otherwise silent corridor. She stopped at the door number advertised on the flyer.

1031

She lifted a hand to knock but hesitated when she heard yelling coming from inside. 

“Byul-ah! That’s disgusting, stop waving it around!”

“Congratulate me first!”

“Ah! Unnie, you’re splattering all over the floor.”

Hyejin stared at the door, wondering if perhaps she had the wrong room number after all. She triple-checked the flyer, winced, and finally, knocked.

The yelling on the other side stopped, followed by what sounded like someone scurrying over to the door, and loudly whispering something to whoever else was inside. When it finally opened by a few inches, it was to the sight of a woman in matching puppy pajamas, maybe a centimeter or so taller than Hyejin, with her long hair messily tied up in a bun.

“Ahn Hyejin-ssi?” The woman asked, her lips curling up in a smile that could only be described as beatific. Hyejin nodded. “Great! Come on in, we can do the interview inside, although that’s just a formality at this point.” The woman opened the door all the way and stepped aside to let her in, only then did Hyejin get a full view of the halo floating just a few centimeters above her head, as well as the dazzling pair of white wings behind her.

“Oh.” Hyejin said, as she toed her shoes off at the hyeon gwan, “I uh--”

“Sorry,” the angel laughed sheepishly, fingers gripping consciously at the hem of her top, “I’m usually in pajamas when I’m just at home.”

“I think she’s more worried that you’ll try to exorcise her, Unnie.” A voice called out, a different woman was hopping down the stairs from the second landing, standing beside the angel and wrapping an arm around her waist as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Hyejin’s eyes automatically travelled to the prominent pair of demon horns sitting atop her head.

“Or that you’ll damn her to the torture pits,” the angel replied just as easily, elbowing the demon in the ribs until she pulled away with a chuckle.

“Sorry,” the angel said. “We haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Kim Yongsun, my sister and I own this unit, but she’s back in heaven so I’m the landlady. This demonic presence,” she turned to the demon with an exasperated smile, “is Moon Byulyi, and we have another roommate, um, there! Jung Wheein!”

Hyejin craned her neck to see where Yong was pointing to another woman who was sitting cross legged on a three-person sofa that faced a large flat screen TV. The woman peered shyly at them. Hyejin waved.

“My name is Ahn Hyejin,” Hyejin said with a bow before she finally took off her face mask, smiling with fangs in full display, “thank you for welcoming me into your home.”

Moon Byulyi’s eyes widened with interest, drawing close to Yongsun once again, hands automatically holding on to the angel’s arm. “Oh, she’s a vampire!” Byulyi said, her voice more amused than surprised, “you didn’t mention that, Unnie.”

“I’m sure I did,” Yongsun said, “you were just too busy playing games on your phone.” She turned to Hyejin now, ushering her to what was probably a dining area. “We can just do the interview here Hyejin-ssi.”

Hyejin sat down on one end and Yongsun and Byulyi positioned themselves across from her. Over their shoulders, Hyejin could see Wheein had her full attention on them, still not moving from her position on the sofa.

“Like I said, this is just a formality at this point,” Yongsun said, as she plucked the halo off her head and reached a full arm inside before pulling out a clipboard. The halo popped back atop her head as she spoke, “for our records you know?”

Hyejin nodded, clasping both hands in front of her. Byulyi had pulled out her phone and was already absentmindedly scrolling through something.

“How long have you been a vampire?” Yongsun asked.

“Over a hundredd years ago.”

Byulyi smirked, eyes still trained on her phone, “Younger than us again. I told you Unnie, at this point you’ll be running a daycare.” Yongsun ignored her, in favor of jotting the answer into the form.

“Do you have family in Seoul?”

“My main coven is in Jeonju, but I wanted a change in pace so I left. We parted on good terms.”

“Are you looking to get a job here in Seoul?”

Hyejin nodded, “I have an audition tomorrow night at a blues club where they’re looking for a singer.”

Yongsun’s smile was nothing short of motherly as she wrote the answer down, beside her, Byulyi was smiling too.

“Are you opposed to sharing living space with,” at that, Yongsun twirled her pen in a wide circle in the air, gesturing to all of them. Hyejin smiled and shook her head.

“Not at all,” she said.

“Do you have any rituals or habits we need to be made aware of?”

“Uh, just standard vampire things I suppose.” Hyejin said carefully, “Uhm, I’m usually awake all night and sleep through the day, but I also suffer from insomnia a bit so sometimes I’m up in the mornings too. I hope that’s not a problem.”

Yongsun nodded as she wrote. “Last question, how do you plan on, uh, keeping yourself nourished?” Hyejin didn’t miss the nervous glance that darted her way, or how Byulyi’s eyes were still on her phone but her thumb had stopped scrolling. 

Hyejin smiled calmly, “I have a running subscription with a blood bank and I get weekly shipments. I just need to email them with my new address here in Seoul.”

She felt more than heard the collective sigh of relief go around the room. Hyejin smiled to herself, she took an inordinate amount of pleasure at the fact that she could still freak out others with the thought that she drank blood to stay alive. 

“Well,” Yongsun clicked her pen and placed it down on the completed form, looking up at Hyejin with a smile. “That’s all there is so I guess the only thing left to do is to say: Welcome, Hyejin-ssi, to your new apartment!”

Hyejin smiled wide and bowed again, first to Yongsun, and then to Byulyi, who had set her phone aside and was smiling at her too. “Thank you very much, I promise I won't cause any trouble.”

“Well, you can cause a little bit of trouble,” Byulyi said, a mischievous glint passing through her eyes, “This Unnie over here loves to clean up messes,” Byulyi highlighted her statement by pinching Yongsun’s cheeks. The angel gave out a short whine and batted her hand away.

“Only because I live with infants,” Yongsun said with a laugh, tucking the clipboard under her arm and gesturing for Hyejin to follow her. “Come on, we’ll give you a tour.”

“The place isn’t that big so it’ll be a short tour,” Byul added, pocketing her phone as she followed behind. 

The entire apartment itself was decently spacious, and flowed well enough that there was even a short flight of stairs that led to a few rooms upstairs. Even though she was sure that some angelic assistance was applied with how everything managed to fit in a single apartment unit, Hyejin stared at everything with no small amount of awe. 

“The entire ground floor is a common area,” Yongsun explained with a wave of her hand, “When you enter from the door the kitchen is automatically to your right and we just came from the dining area. Anything in the refrigerator is up for grabs unless you put a label on it,” at this Byulyi chuckled, and Hyejin was sure there was an inside joke there somewhere.

“Here is, well--we have a TV!” Yongsun said, leading Hyejin past a single bookshelf that separated the dining area from the sofa where Wheein was sitting. She smiled at her again and was rewarded with a shy wave the flash of what looked to be a fluffy chocolate brown tail. Hyejin’s eyes widened.

“Oh yeah, Wheein is a werewolf.” Byul said as an afterthought, smirking at the other woman on the sofa. Wheein pouted at Byul and it was the single most adorable thing Hyejin had ever seen. 

“Up here are the bedrooms and the bathroom,” Yongsun was already bounding up the staircase, this first room is,” she paused, cleared her throat, and said something so low Hyejin could barely catch it. “Sorry?” Hyejin said.

Even though she was facing away, Hyejin caught how the tips of Yongsun’s ears flushed pink. Behind her, Byulyi was chuckling. Yongsun pivoted so fast, Hyejin almost lost her balance and fell backward into Byulyi. The angel was facing her head-on now, a clear and furious blush high on her cheeks. 

“This first room is mine and Byulyi’s.” Yongsun said, her eyes a bit defiant, as if daring Hyejin to say something about it. Hyejin nodded and smiled, gesturing for Yongsun to continue. If the way the tension in the angel’s shoulders released was a little bit too obvious, Hyejin was polite enough not to comment on that too. She chanced a look behind her, Byulyi caught her eye and winked.

“Next to ours is Wheein’s and way over at the end of the hall over there is the bathroom.’ Yongsun said, gesturing to a closed door at the end. “I wouldn’t go in there right now though, the toilet was clogged before you arrived an--”

“And I fixed it!” Byulyi announced triumphantly, “with patience and a clear plastic bottle! No other demon in the nine circles of hell can do that!”

“Yeah, and no other demon would wave around the bottle after and make a mess in the living room either,” Wheein called down from below. Everyone burst out laughing. Despite herself, Hyejin found herself chuckling too. She barely knew these women but already she felt a sense of belonging with them.

“And this is your room!” Yongsun announced happily, opening the door beside Wheein’s room. With a flick of a switch the room was bathed in light. By all means it was a simple room, a single bed by the wall near the door that faced a moderately sized closet, there was a desk by the window and a few shelves along the wall.

“We can have the curtains replaced with black out curtains, or blinds, or whatever can help you keep the room dark during the day,” Yongsun added, she was saying something else but Hyejin could barely hear her. She walked around the room once, fingers running along the cabinet and the crisp clean sheets on the bed. It took her a moment to realize that Yongsun and Byulyi were staring at her expectantly.

“Are you okay with the room?” Byulyi asked.

Hyejin’s resounding smile showed off all her fangs. “It’s perfect! Thank you so much again!” The last part she said with a deep bow. In front of her, Yongsun and Byulyi bowed as well.

“We’re happy you like it, Hyejin-ssi.” Yongsun said, reaching to close the door and give her some privacy.

“Uhm,” Hyejin called out, feeling self conscious all of a sudden, “You mentioned I was younger than you. Uh, I’m okay with not being addressed so formally. Unnie.” She felt the nervous smile creeping up her lips. From her bedroom door, both Byulyi and Yongsun smiled a little wider in return.

“Okay then Hyejin-ah, we’ll give you time to settle in. If you want a snack, there’s some food in the fridge.” Yongsun said, already pulling the door closed.

“Welcome home!” Byulyi called out just as the door shut behind them.

The last word filled her with so much warmth, if her heart was still beating, she knew it would be hammering excitedly about her ribcage. She sat on the bed and let herself really bask in the feel of it. “I’m home!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to update this weekly so leave a comment on what you'd like to see next! Hyejin at her job? Yong getting a visit from her angelic family? Byul's daily life as a demon? Puppy Wheein? OT4 movie nights making fun of western horror movies? What sort of supernatural beings are their other idol friends?
> 
> By default Yong and Byul are together in this universe but I wont do much shippy stuff. Unless your prompt is really good, then maybe I'll give it a go!
> 
> Leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!


	2. Grocery Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Byul woke up, it felt like just another Tuesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that even though Full Moons are only SEEN at night, the moon sometimes reaches peak fullness in the middle of the day or sometimes in the morning?

When Byul woke up, it felt like just another Tuesday. Yong’s side of the bed was already made, which was no big surprise. Her angel had a weird quirk of sleeping late but waking up with the sun. 

Exiting their bedroom was an uneventful affair too. The apartment was quiet, which meant that Hyejin was still asleep, Yong was out getting groceries, probably, and Wheein was most likely meeting up with that artist collective of hers. Which was why Byul thought nothing about filling up a bowl of cereal and heading to the sofa to watch some TV. As she sat down though, tufts of fur flew up into the air and into her bowl of cereal. “Shit.” Byul grumbled.

She turned to look at the calendar they all kept near the kitchen and confirmed her suspicions when she saw that the day’s date was highlighted up until the next day. “Shit,” she said, even louder. 

Setting her bowl of cereal aside carefully, she stood up and began walking around the apartment eyes darting every which way.

“Wheein-ah,” she called out slowly, making her voice low and comforting. A quick walk around the dining and kitchen area came up empty, Byul even checked under their table to be sure. 

“Wheein-ah, it’s just me.” Byul called out again, walking back towards the sofa and crouching down on all fours to check under the sofa. Sure enough a wide pair of brown eyes stared back at her followed by what was undoubtedly a canine-sounding whine.

“There you are!” Byul couldn’t help the way she smiled. Even though her roommate hated being teased for it, Wheein really was the cutest werewolf Byul had ever seen in all her millennia on Earth. “Come on,” Byul said, voice lilting just a bit as she reached under the sofa and grabbed Wheein by her paws, “you can come out, I promise, no funny costumes this time!”

Wheein huffed and rolled her wolf eyes, which only made Byul laugh. 

“If you come out,” Byul said, “we can watch that new drama you’ve been wanting to start.” The offer was followed by a few seconds of silence, followed by the awkward shuffle of fur, claws, and paws against tiles as Wheein slowly crawled back out from under the sofa.

“There she is!” Byul began scratching at Wheein’s head and under her chin, “Good girl!”

Wheein growled once, baring her fangs before daintily hopping atop the sofa and staring at Byul expectantly.

“Right, right.” Byul laughed, holding both hands up, palms facing outward, “No baby talk and no costumes. Promise!” She stared at her ruined bowl of cereal and sighed, “just let me fix my breakfast and then we’ll watch okay?”

Wheein gave out a bark and what was unmistakably a smile. Byul smiled back before heading back into the kitchen.

Four episodes into the drama, Byul felt Wheein’s head grow into a heavy weight on her lap. She paused the TV to confirm that she now had a lapful of sleeping werewolf and chuckled. So much for trying to do the dishes before Yong came home.

As if on cue, she heard the sound of their door unlocking and the rustle of feathers and supermarket plastic. “I’m home,” Yongsun called out. If Byul craned her neck enough, she could just barely make out the angel struggling to remove her shoes while still juggling three grocery bags.

“Why are you just sitting there?” Yongsun said, annoyed, “help me put these away!”

“I can’t.” Byul said, looking down at Wheein who had burrowed deeper into her lap. Not for the first time did she wonder if Wheein dreamt in color or in black and white. 

“What do you mean you--” there was a pause, Byul looked up just in time to catch Yong’s head whip over to their calendar and then peer over to the sleeping werewolf on the sofa. “Oh,” Yong said softly.

“Sorry!” Byul called out, reaching over to smooth out Wheein’s fur while Yong put away groceries in the background.

“She probably turned sometime during the night, huh?” Yong said from the kitchen. 

“That’s what I’m thinking too. Although the full moon wasn’t until today, maybe early morning?” There was a distracted hum from the kitchen. Byul felt her left leg start to slowly fall asleep. “Did you buy any more of that chocolate drink?” She called out, trying to stretch out the limb without disturbing Wheein.

“Yeahp,” Yong said, “oh, and I passed by the liquor store to buy champagne, so I thought--”

Three things happened in succession then: in her excitement to show Byul the champagne bottle, Yong accidentally pulled the bottle out by the wire, causing it to pop and splatter all over their groceries and kitchen. The loud noise made Yong scream, which made Byul scream. The sound and chaos awoke Wheein who, in a panic, began yelping and running around the apartment, upsetting the shelves and slipping over the spilled champagne.

“Wheein-ah, dont!”

“Calm down!”

A few minutes of wrangling and chasing later, Byul and Yong were seated side by side on the floor of the apartment kitchen, spilled champagne seeping through their clothes. Wheein was held in suspended animation in a pentagram that Byul had hastily drawn with a crayon she found on their bookshelf.

“For the record,” Byul said, gently butting her head against Yong’s in a way that made her horns poke against the angel’s cheek, “that was your fault.”

Yong’s responding glare and shove was more perfunctory than anything else. From the corner of Byul’s eye, she could already see Yong reaching for the halo on top of her head. Without warning, Byul reached out and grabbed Yong’s wrist.

“Byul-ah, what--”

“Last time Unnie did that while I was in the room, I ended up trapped inside that stupid halo for hours.” Byul stood up, pulling the angel along with her until they were eye to eye.

“Right,” Yong said, having the decency to look sorry about the incident. “So how do you propose we clean up?”

Byul looked around surveying the damage. To Yong’s credit, most of the groceries had been put away before the champagne incident. The worst of the carnage was caused by the pack of toilet rolls that Wheein had accidentally ripped open with her claws as she darted past, creating a mushy, champagne-scented mess that had splattered all over their kitchen. The idea of cleaning everything the mortal way made Byul frown.

“Why don’t I go out to buy new toilet rolls while you halo-clean?” Byul said instead.

Yong looked around and nodded. “Okay. Take Wheein with you.” Byul stared guiltily at their friend, still hovering a few feet above the floor before looking back at Yong.

“She hates the leash,” Byul grumbled, snapping her fingers and changing from her champagne-stained sleepwear to a shirt, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. Beside her, Yongsun laughed.

“Only because you make her do dumb, pet stuff.” Yongsun pulled the halo off her head, stretching it wide until it was about the size of a hula hoop and then stepped in feet first, passing it over her body. When it was atop her head again it had shrunk back to its original size, and Yong had gone from wearing a champagne soaked dress and cardigan to a pair of blue and white striped pajamas. 

“Besides,” Yongsun said, in the tone of the tone of someone who had already made up her mind, “Wheein might get trapped in the halo too if I clean with her in the same room.”

Byul waved her hand dismissively, already reaching for the leash they keep on the top of the bookshelf. She approached Wheein carefully, leash held tight in her left hand before she extended a foot and began erasing the pentagram lines on the floor.

Wheein plopped down in a furry heap, looking around a few times before glaring balefully up at Byul. The demon winced, “Sorry, but you were making a mess! I panicked!” Wheein growled once leaning forward to bite Byul’s wrist, placing more force behind it than she normally would have.

“Aish,” Byul wrenched her hand away, rubbing at the reddened skin. “I’ll have you know, you ruined all the toilet paper Yongsun-unnie bought, so you have to come with me to buy new ones.”

Only then did Wheein seem to realize the mess she’d caused. Her wolf eyes widened, staring past Byul to where Yong was still standing in the middle of the mess in the kitchen. The angel shrugged once. “She’s right.”

Wheein let out a low whine, padding over to Yong and butting her head against the angel’s thigh. Yong reached out to scratch at Wheein’s ears, kneeling down and smiling. “It’s okay Wheein-ah. It was my fault too for mishandling the champagne. I’m going to use my halo to clean up though, so you have to go with Byul-ah.”

Wheein looked over her shoulder, eyes zeroing in on the leash in Byul’s hand, She let out another whine. “I made her promise not to do anything humiliating.” Yong said.

Wheein huffed once, in what could only be resignation before walking back over to Byul and sitting up straight.

“It’s just to the store and back,” Byul said, carefully slipping the collar around Wheein’s neck before fastening the leash. “Besides,” Byul added, smirking now, “we still have a drama to finish, right?”

Wheein barked once, happily, before trotting out the door, tugging Byul behind her. 

-

South Korean summers were, in a word, unbearable. This was the thought in Byul’s head as she walked the two blocks it took to get from their apartment building to the nearest grocery. Beside her, Wheein was already steadily panting. 

The moment they had stepped out of the air conditioned lobby of their building into the blaring heat of the street outside, Byul had snapped her fingers to conjure a cap, pressing it down against her head until her horns poked through, and sunglasses. After a moment's thought, she snapped her fingers again so that a red bandana appeared around Wheein’s neck, over the collar. Wheein looked up at her. Byul shrugged, “Makes you look less, wolf-y.”

Aside from the heat, the walk to the supermarket had been unremarkable, up until they reached the entrance, where a newly plastered sign had Byul and Wheein standing dumbfounded outside.

_ NO PETS INSIDE. _

“Huh,” Byul said, looking down at Wheein who was already staring up at her. “That wasn’t there last week. Must be under new management.”

Wheein barked once before walking around in circles, eyes turning big and pleading. Byul pulled out her phone and searched for pet-friendly supermarkets in the area. The nearest one was three kilometers away. She knelt down until she and Wheein were eye to eye. “I’ll be really fast, I promise.”

Wheein howled reproachfully. Someone exited the grocery behind them and the brief flash of air conditioning that wafted along Byul’s back was divine. She looked once more at Wheein’s sad eyes, sighed, and stood up, “Okay, let’s go to the other one.” 

The walk to the second grocery took a little more than half an hour, halfway through, Byul had to stop to conjure a bowl of water for Wheein that earned a few coos from children and teenagers passing by.

“Aren’t you the popular one?” Byul said, smirking down as Wheein walked beside her. The werewolf gave her a bark that was fully smug. Byul laughed before snapping a photo and sending it to Yong.

When they finally reached the grocery, Byul almost wept in relief. The airconditioning cooled the sweat that had been building up on her forehead and the back of her neck. After they had gotten the toilet rolls, she let Wheein pull her into the ice cream section.

“You want ice cream?” Byul laughed. Wheein barked once, tail wagging incessantly. “Okay, okay. Pick out a flavor.” She unstrapped the leash and watched as Wheein hopped atop the cooler and nudge her nose against the glass. Byul snapped another photo. 

Across the aisle a few elderly grocery patrons began glaring in their direction. Byul chuckled, ushering Wheein off the cooler before bowing slightly. When her head lifted back up, she let her eyes flash to a demonic black, and winked. Beside her, Wheein nudged her head against her thigh.

“Oh come on,” Byul said, opening the freezer and pulling out a tub of blueberry yogurt ice cream, “Let me have my fun. They act like they’ve never seen a demon before.”

They took their time walking back to the apartment, this time Wheein gamely allowing Byul to take her picture along the way. After they had passed the grocery store from earlier, Byul stopped at a smaller store nearby and tied Wheein’s leash to a bike rack. “You gotta trust me, okay? I’ll only be a few minutes.” She took Wheein’s responding bark as a happy one and quickly walked in.

It didn’t take more than a minute to find what she needed and buy it. Still when she exited it was to the sight of a few teenagers kneeling in front of Wheein, snapping photos of her and cooing. When they saw Byul they immediately withdrew their hands, bowing in embarrassment before shuffling away, their giggles piercing through the hot summer afternoon.

Byul shared a look with Wheein before the werewolf’s eyes drifted to the bag in Byul’s hand. When their eyes met again, Wheein’s expression was nothing short of teasing. Byul rolled her eyes. “Shut up. Come on.”

When they finally made it back to the apartment, Hyejin was sitting by herself in the dining area, nursing a steaming bowl of instant noodles and a glass of blood. She lifted her head in acknowledgement as they shuffled inside. “You’re up early.” Byul said as she toed her shoes off.

“Need to practice songs for tonight. What took you guys so long?” Hyejin said around a mouthful of noodles. Byul finally shed her cap and ran her fingers through the hair around her horns. Beside her, Wheein had bounded over happily to sit next to Hyejin, stretching her neck so that the vampire could take off the leash and collar. 

“The grocery near our place stopped allowing pets, we had to walk a little farther.” Byul said with a sigh, putting away the toilet paper in the cupboards and the ice cream in the freezer before placing the final package by the sink. “Where’s Yongsun-unnie?” she asked. 

“Laundry.” Came the reply, followed by the sound of slurped noodles.

Byul sank back into the sofa with a tired sigh, propping her feet up on the coffee table before setting the TV up to play the drama she and Wheein had been watching. “Come on Wheein-ah.” She felt the sofa cushions give way underneath her as Wheein took up the rest of the sofa space, head resting just a few inches away from Byul’s knee.

She pressed play.

\---

When Yong came back to the apartment, laundry basket and freshly dried clothes and towels in tow, she was struck with a sense of déjà vu. The TV was on, playing the drama Byul and Wheein had been watching when she’d gotten home earlier that day. When she peered around the bookshelf however, it was to the sight of an awake Wheein, intently watching the TV while Byul napped lightly beside her. 

She caught Wheein’s eye and waved. The werewolf wagged her tail happily in response. 

Hyejin emerged from the upstairs bathroom, toothbrush in her mouth and a towel wrapped around her head, when she saw Yong she pointed toward the sink where a white plastic bag was waiting. “Byulie-unnie bought that for you.”

“Oh?” Yong approached the package and laughed when she realized what it was. She pulled out the new bottle of champagne. She looked over her shoulder to where Wheein was staring at her expectantly.

“I hope Byul-ah didn’t give you a hard time today” Yong said, opening the refrigerator and placing the champagne bottle inside. Wheein barked once.

Yong laughed, fishing her phone out of her pocket and snapping a picture while Byul was still asleep. “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bonus content for ya'll: [Wheein in wolf form!](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Eurasian_wolf_2.jpg)
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who commented and left a kudos for the first chapter! It honestly makes my day and gives me more motivation to write! Make sure to leave a comment again on whatever supernatural shenanigans you want to see our girls get into! More comments mean more chapters! Everybody wins!


	3. Girls Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It isn't until one of Seoul's vampire covens rents out the club where she works at that Hyejin realizes there's an empty space inside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New week, new chapter! I saw a couple of comments asking for a chapter on Hyejin at her job so here we go! Ask and you shall receive!
> 
> Once again, thank you to all the lovely, lovely comments from last chapter! They really keep me going. 
> 
> I realized after posting last week's chapter that two chapters into this fic and I still hadn't given Wheein any decent speaking lines, which is something i thought I'd finally fix in this chapter.

The first night Hyejin came to audition for her new job, she had to wait 20 minutes outside in the cold before the business owner remembered that he needed to invite her inside. The owner had been hesitant to hire her, stating, not too bluntly, that he was worried she might scare his human customers away. She had tilted her chin up, then, and held the mic a little tighter as she sang. When the audition had ended, she had been fully ready for him to wave her aside, instead he hired her on the spot.

That had been three months ago; now, as she strolled up to the jazz club, the first thing that greeted her was the club manager, pacing frantically outside the entrance as he tapped furiously on his phone,

“Good evening,” Hyejin greeted, bowing slightly. When manager caught sight of her, he pocketed his phone and walked up with a frantic look in his eye. “Ah, Hyejin-ssi. Excellent timing, I need your opinion on something.”

When they entered the club, Hyejin had to bring a hand up to her face to mask her initial reaction. 

The Blue Cosmos was a jazz cafe and bar. During the day it served artisanal lattes, pastries, and paninis, with fusion jazz streaming from the speakers and various indoor plants and succulents hanging from the ceilings or decorating tables. 

Late in the afternoon, the cafe would close for a few hours. The barista was replaced by a bartender, the sandwiches swapped for easy finger food, fairy lights were strewn about the hanging plants, and the Blue Cosmos would open in the evening as a club with a live jazz band that played until the early hours of the morning.

That evening however, instead of the usual fairy lights, Hyejin was greeted with the unfortunate sight of paper bat cutouts dangling from the ceiling, and instead of the succulents on the tables, there were now tiny plastic skulls and black candles on every table.

“What do you think?” the club manager asked, he sounded distracted. From the corner of her eye, Hyejin could see him fiddling on his phone again

“It’s March.” She replied instead, for lack of anything else to say. 

“What? Oh. Yes I know, but it’s only for tonight. The club has been rented out by the Seocho Coven, and I wanted to make it seem more hospitable.”

Hyejin wasn’t sure what to say to that. Behind her mask, she grit her teeth. On one hand, she was a bit touched that her boss seemed to be opening up to the idea of other supernatural patrons. On the other, she didn’t know how to break it to him that his design choices were questionable without losing her job.

“I think that,” she said carefully, “if the head of the Seocho coven chose our club for their gathering, it would be best to show them the Blue Cosmos’ unique charm.” She stared at him meaningfully, hoping he got the message.

Dong-Hyun looked from her to the main area of the club and sighed, “It’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Hyejin said, chuckling, “But I think it’s a good effort. Uhm.” She hesitated, before taking a deep breath and going for the plunge, “Maybe we lose the paper bats? Not all of us like using that form.”

“Ah,” Dong-Hyun looked at the decoration before nodding, “Yes that can be arranged. Thank you for letting me know.”

She bowed again, before heading inside for her soundcheck with the band. Right before she took the stage, she took a picture of the shoddy decorations, sent it to their apartment group chat with a bit of context for a laugh and forgot all about it.

When the Seocho coven arrived later in the evening, Hyejin couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. It hadn’t been that long since she left her own coven back in Jeonju, but the feeling of being a part of one was still strong. The sense of security and community that came with those of her own kind.

During one of the breaks, Hyejin was cooling herself off by the fans nearer the bar when--

“Hello.”

She turned around, coming face to face with a vampire woman with a thinner face and a kind smile. Hyejin bowed awkwardly in response.

“My name is Choi Soo-jung,” the other vampire said. Her fangs flashed briefly in the club’s dim lighting. “I wanted to come over and say how really good your performance was earlier.”

Hyejin bowed again, her smile growing a little wider. “Thank you for saying so. Uhm. I’m Ahn Hyejin.” After a beat, Hyejin adjusted her chair so that she was facing the other vampire properly and motioned for her to sit down too.

Soo-jung smiled again, taking the chair opposite her and folding her hands neatly on the table. “I thought I knew most of the vampires in this part of town, but I’ve never seen you before, are you from a different district’s coven, Hyejin-ssi?”

“Oh, no.” Hyejin ducked her head a bit, “I just moved here a few months ago, from Jeonju.”

“Ah!” The other vampire’s eyes widened infinitesimally, “You parted with your coven?”

Hyejin nodded.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.” Soo-jung said, lifting both palms up in a placating manner. “I know it’s not uncommon for other vampires to try and live apart, but I’ve been part of the Seocho Coven for centuries, so I can't imagine what it must be like.”

Hyejin ducked her head again, feeling a bit self conscious. “Ah well, it’s probably because I’m still young. I just want to figure things out on my own before I think about pledging to a coven again.”

Soo-jung nodded, her smile was an understanding one and deep down, Hyejin felt relieved. She hadn’t interacted with many vampires since she came to Seoul, and she knew her roommates would never really be able to understand her as a vampire.

“Do you mind my asking how old you are?” Soo-jung asked, she motioned for a waiter with a flutter of her fingers and smoothly ordered them a plate of fries.

“I was turned in 1920, which was my 26th year.” Hyejin replied.

“You are young!” Soo-jung replied, laughing lightly. Their fries had arrived and she pushed the plate toward Hyejin as they talked.

Soo-jung told her about how she was turned during the start of the Joseon Dynasty, before they moved on to other things. Hyejin learned that the Seocho coven was a major stakeholder in some of the country’s best hospitals which was where the coven received their blood supply, and in turn, she told Soo-jung about the vampire-only festivals held in Jeonju. 

Before long, Hyejin’s break was up, and she had to perform again, but Soo-jung had promised to speak with her one last time before the night was up.

A part of her felt lighter during her second set. It was nice, she realized, suddenly, to speak with other vampires again. Like an unknown space she wasn’t aware of being briefly filled. 

When she had finished performing for the night, dawn was about two hours away. On a normal day, Hyejin would leave as soon as she could, just so that she could be home before sunrise. This time, however, she hung back smiling when she saw Soo-jung walk over again.

“Congratulations on a good set!” The older vampire said with a brighter smile and Hyejin bowed again, laughing this time.

“Thank you Unnie,” she replied teasingly.

“Oh, am I your Unnie now?” Soo-jung replied, laughing too. “I suppose that makes us friends, huh?”

Hyejin smiled a bit wider, “I’m certainly glad to have Unnie as a friend.”

Soo-jung nodded, looking behind her for a moment before turning back to Hyejin, “We’ll be leaving soon, but I’ll definitely come back on my own and maybe we can hang out some more?”

Hyejin nodded, already excited at the prospect of it. “I’d like that!”

“And,” at this the older vampire hesitated a bit, glancing away for a moment before turning back, “I know you said you wanted to find your own way, but if you ever want that feeling of being part of a family again, the Seocho coven would welcome you with open arms.”

The invitation gave her pause. She looked past Soo-jung, toward the other vampires in the club, most of whom were chatting jovially with one another, sharing jokes and stories that were probably hundreds if not thousands of years old. 

She looked back and smiled sheepishly, bowing again. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll remain on my own for now.”

Soo-jung smiled, nodding in understanding, “Okay, but the offer stands. It was good to meet you Hyejin-ssi!”

Hyejin waved goodbye before turning to fix her own things. When she was halfway out the door, she burst out laughing. “What are you doing here?”

Wheein was leaning against the side of the club, scrolling absently on her phone, when she saw Hyejin she smiled, fixing the bucket cap on her head. “I thought you would want some company on the walk back home.

“This is certainly new,” Hyejin said, looping her arm through Wheein’s as they walked, “you must really miss me when I’m away at work, huh?” She teased, taking pleasure in the cringe that took up all of Wheein’s face.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” The werewolf replied easily, “Your head won't fit through those tight-fitting crop tops you like so much.” 

They walked in companionable silence for a long while before Wheein sighed. “I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but I was from Jeonju too.”

“Really?” Hyejin didn’t bother hiding her shock, turning to her roommate with wide eyes. 

“Yuhp,” Wheein was staring down at her feet as she walked. Hyejin belatedly realized that she was wearing the sweatshirt and sweatpants she usually wore to bed.

“Did you walk all the way over here in your sleepwear?” She asked.

Wheein shrugged. “Jeonju’s only wolf pack is very discreet, so I’m not that surprised we never met before you moved here.” she said instead. Hyejin nodded, and waited, realizing there was something more that her roommate wanted to say.

“When I first moved to Seoul,” Wheein began, “I was very sad to part with my pack. Unlike vampires, not many of us choose to leave our packs you know.”

“But some do,” Hyejin said, the ‘ _so why did you?’_ went unsaid between them, but she knew Wheein understood. Around them the streets were mostly quiet, and the wind was colder than ever, which made their conversation feel a little more intimate.

“Same as you,” Wheein replied, “I wanted to figure out who I was outside of my pack.”

Hyejin nodded.

“During my first few months here,” Wheein said, her voice growing a bit more wistful, “I was very lonely, and I missed my mother and my pack a lot. When I started making friends with other wolves in Seoul, I was jealous of them in their packs. I missed that feeling of belonging.”

Hyejin felt that empty space again, the one that was filled briefly when she spoke to Soo-jung. 

“When I saw your text message earlier this evening,” Wheein said, “I had a sense that you might be feeling the same way by being around other vampires.”

“Does it go away?” Hyejin asked, beside her she felt more than saw Wheein shrug in response. 

“I think that will always be a part of you.” Wheein spared a glance at her before continuing, “sometimes it will be hard but sometimes it gets better. And I know I don’t regret trying to live my own life.”

“That’s good.” Hyejin replied, smiling at her friend and gripping her arm just a little bit tighter.

“The Unnies helped me a lot, actually,” Wheein said, chuckling at distant memory now. Despite herself, Hyejin found herself chuckling too. “They did?”

“Yes,” Wheein nodded, they were approaching their apartment building. Around them, the night was turning from velvet blue to lavender, and Hyejin felt the familiar fatigue settle into her bones that told her she needed to be asleep. 

“They took really good care of me when I started renting here, and they made me feel less lonely. Now they’re like my family.”

Hyejin smirked, “and you give me flack for making cheesy comments, when here you are waxing poetic about The Unnies.”

Wheein rolled her eyes, shoving lightly at Hyejin as they got off the elevator to their floor and walked towards room 1031. As Wheein fit her key in the lock, Hyejin squeezed at her arm again until the werewolf turned to look up at her.

“Thank you, for picking me up from work, And thank you for talking to me about all of this. I think it’s what I needed to hear.”

Wheein nodded, smiling a dimpled smile. When she opened the door to the apartment, both of them were greeted by the smell of instant noodles and coffee wafting in from the kitchen. Upon entering, the first thing they saw was Yong and Byul, sitting together at the dining table, knees touching as they nursed two separate bowls of noodles. In front of Byul was a steaming mug of coffee.

“Why are you two awake?” Wheein asked as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the rack by their door. At the table, Byul’s eyes were still mostly closed, and her voice was still hoarse with sleep when she replied, “We heard you leave and Yong got worried, so she made me wait up with her.”

The angel glared at the demon indignantly, poking at Byul with her elbow, “Dont lie, you were a bit worried too.”

Hyejin shared a look with Wheein and smiled. She sniffed at the air before making her way to the pantry, grabbing two more packets of instant noodles. “We’ll join you, then.”

“You’re always so hungry,” Wheein complained, even though there was a smile on her lips as she took a seat beside Byul. Hyejiin smiled a little wider, pouring hot water into the two bowls before bringing them over to the table. 

Soon, the four of them were slurping noodles in silence. When Hyejin looked up from her bowl, at Wheein, at her two Unnies, she found that she didn’t notice the empty space from earlier at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back to Chapter 1 and edited Hyejin from a thousand year old vampire to a hundred year old one, so for some of you who may have read the earlier version, just know that I made the change, which is why in this chapter, she says she was turned in 1920.
> 
> And yay!! Soo-jung sighting! This wont be the last you see of her, but it's certainly fun giving the MMM girls more supernatural friends! Leave a comment about which idol / idol group I should cameo in the future!


	4. Day Jobs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peak into their individual lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to mix it up a bit with this format! Tell me if this is something you guys are into as well. Or if you prefer I stick to the more episodic-type of chapters.
> 
> also, popping by to say that [I MADE A TWITTER FOR MY FICS](https://twitter.com/_punsandroses_/) lasdfjsdfl dont be shy to say hi over there if u wanna be friends :3 Might also do polls to see what people wanna see on future chapters.

_wheein_

When Wheein entered the studio, she wasted no time slipping on her paint splattered converse and overalls and heading over to her area in the studio, surprised to find that there were already paint cans waiting for her there.

Her art collective’s next gallery show was in just a week and she was way behind on her pieces for it. She stared at her open cans of paint for a few moments, grabbing a brush and doing a few test swatches on a scrap piece of paper by her table. She was still thinking about other color combinations in her head when she heard another person enter.

“Good Morning Wheein-ah!”

She looked over her shoulder to smile at the owner of the studio as he entered, dropping his own bags haphazardly by the door before picking up where he left off yesterday with his sculpture. “Good Morning Oh Min!” she called out, turning back to her paint swatches, wondering if she should hunt for some pink in their stocks.

“Did you see the paint I left out for you yesterday?” He asked. Wheein could tell he was smiling even though he was still wearing a face mask. “I thought they would go with the vibe you were describing.”

Wheein nodded, grabbing an empty bucket and mixing some red and orange together before adding half a can of white. “Oh Min-nim always knows what I’m trying to do before I know it myself.”

“Happy to help” Oh Min said, already half to himself as he focused more on bending wire for his sculpture.

They worked in silence like that for the rest of the morning, Eventually more members of their collective arrived, each one disappearing to their own corner of the studio to finish a piece or start a new one. 

Wheein was in the middle of letting some watered down white paint drip down her now peach spattered canvas when she heard footsteps crunch under the plastic covering of her floor.

“It’s coming along nicely!”

“Thank you, Unnie!” Wheein trilled, setting the paintbrush down before reaching out to pull Heyne into a side hug. The other painter giggled, trying to avoid crashing into the open cans of paint that were strewn about Wheein’s space. 

“Every time you hug me,” The older girl said, her tone already teasing, “Youngsoo thinks I’ve betrayed him for a different dog, he growls every time I come home.”

“Cute!” Wheein laughs, picking up a paintbrush to return to her painting, “Youngsoo should know that I’m the only puppy in your life.”

“Does that mean you’ll let me walk you during the next full moon?” Heyne teased.

“Shut up.”

“I’m ordering for pizza lunch, is there anything you want?”

Before she could control it, Wheein felt her tail burst out through the loose trousers of her overalls, past the hidden seam she had created in all her clothes. The traitorous thing wagged happily behind her at the prospect of food. In front of her, Heyne laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Pepperoni pizza please. You’re the best Unnie!”

When the pizza arrived, Wheein was painting pink and orange and yellow streaks across her canvas, three different flat brushes held in the spaces between fingers of her left hand while she alternated using them with her right. 

“Come and get it Wheein-ah!”

She placed a final streak of pink along one corner before leaving all her paint brushes on her table and wiping her paint streaked fingers against her overalls before joining her friends by the shared table that everyone just naturally designated as the “food table”. She had just reached the shared table when another one of the other artists approached from behind, trying to reach around Wheein for the stack of tissues. Losing his footing, he accidentally stumbled into the shelf nearest her, sending some of the items on the highest rack toppling down.

The chaos had everyone screaming and moving out of the way. Once the dust had settled, Heyne came crashing into Wheein, checking at her head where a toolbox had just narrowly missed hitting her. "Are you okay?"

Wheein nodded, fully aware that her tail had migrated to between her legs. Giving her true feelings away. The artist that had knocked into the shelf was apologizing profusely while Oh Min had set about putting everything away. "Good thing that toolbox didn't hit Wheein," Oh Min said, returning to his seat earlier and opening up the pizza boxes, "we would have lost our best artist."

That sent the group at ease, starting up a good natured round of teasing.

“You think you’ll finish it today?” Oh Min asked, around a slice of cheese and potato pizza. There was an unopened bottle of Coke by him that Wheein eyed as she reached for her own slice of pepperoni. She turned to look back at her painting before shrugging. “I think so. Maybe I’m more inspired today than I thought.”

“It’s definitely your style,” Baekhyun, a mixed media artist, said from his spot on the floor. All of her friends were staring at the painting now, taking it in. Wheein tried not to feel too self conscious.

“Are you going to give it a title?” Heyne asked, sneakily grabbing Oh Min’s bottle of Coke and passing it to Wheein. 

“Maybe not. I think I want the audience to look at it and get a feel for what it’s about instead of me having to tell them.”

“So what’s it about?”

Wheein looked around at her friends, normal mortals who had accepted her into their lives so openly and smiled. “Love. Different kinds of love.”

Her answer was met with laughter and a lot of good natured teasing. Wheein just laughed along with them.

_byul_

Usually, when Byul took a job, she tried to avoid projects that involved working under the afternoon sun during summer. She left Hell to avoid the heat, not subject herself to more of it. However, this was a special case, so as much as she hated the stinging dry heat that prickled at her skin, when she got the email for this job, she accepted without a second thought.

It was just after lunch when she arrived at the shoot, the familiar sight of the crew setting up lights and set pieces already making her feel at ease. “Hello everyone,” she bowed as she arrived, met with bows and polite smiles in return. Immediately she was approached by a younger woman, hair tied away from her face in a low ponytail and a metal clipboard tucked under her arm.

“Moon Byulyi-nim?” The woman asked. Byul nodded, taking off her sunglasses and tucking them into her bag.

“I’m Kim Yu Bin, the coordinator for the shoot today. The brand’s marketing director won't be here until later but he sends his regards.”

Byul nodded, opening her mouth to ask a different question when a sudden yelp distracted her. Yu Bin smiled. “Our talent is ready, so once you’re set up, we can begin.”

After thanking her and asking where she could set down her other bags, Byul grabbed her camera for portraits and approached the cordoned off area. Instantly, she was greeted by a cacophony of barks and the soft pattering of paws against cement as six or seven beagles came running over to her. 

Byul laughed, trying to crouch down and scratch behind seven ears at once without accidentally stepping on a paw or sitting on a tail. 

“Sorry!” A man jogged over, wearing a vest that had the logo of a local breeder on the chest. “They’re usually well behaved. You don’t live with a dog of your own, do you?” He stared at her with wide eyes.

Byul smirked, “Something like that.” She had to hold her camera above her head, to prevent a darker beagle from licking at the lens. One of the dogs had its two front paws on her thigh, licking at her neck and sniffing at her clothes. Byul gently pulled away.

The breeder struggled to wrangle all the beagles. Byul gamely pulled out her phone, snapping a few photos to send to Yong. “You’re all so cute!” She cooed, taking a few videos too. 

“You’re very at ease,” the breeder said, finally getting a hold of all his dogs. “You’ve photographed animals before?” Byul shrugged in response, dusting herself off before fiddling with the settings of her camera.

“I mostly do editorials for fashion magazines. Sometimes I do gallery exhibits too. This is a special occasion, I just really love dogs.” The breeder nodded, mostly to himself before scurrying away, dogs in tow. Byul chuckled after him, mortals were a curious race. 

“Everyone,” Yu Bin called out, “We can begin in a few minutes.”

Byul began taking a few test shots, fiddling with the lighting settings and coordinating with the different crew when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. It was a text from Yong.

_I wasn’t aware that we were fighting. Hehe._

Byul chuckled, sending a differently angled shot of the beagles. _We aren’t. But I made you smile right?_

 _You’re gross,_ was Yong’s immediate reply _._ Byul had to pocket her phone then, to begin the shoot. As she crouched and contorted herself across the hot concrete, getting shot after shot of happy beagles playing with pet toys and wearing pet clothes for a new lifestyle brand, she could see the breeder by nearby, fists clenched at his sides as he watched her interact with his dogs. She shrugged it off.

By the time the shoot finished, the sun was already setting and the brand’s marketing director was thanking her profusely, happy with the photos she’d taken. Byul was packing up when she heard a whine by her knees, looking down to see one of the beagles smiling up at her. The same one that had been licking her neck earlier. “Hello, you,” Byul greeted, crouching and scratching its chin. “Why aren’t you with your siblings?”

Before she could reach down to pet the beagle on the head, it ran off again, this time toward the direction of the street. Byul didn't hesitate giving chase. She was still a few paces away when she realized that the beagle was about to run into uncoming traffic. Without hesitating, Byul ran over, quickly scooping the dog into her arms pivoting back unto the sidewalk just as a car sped past. The force and movement of it sending her flat on her butt. On her lap, the beagle was happily oblivious, licking up at her neck again. "You're not trying to send me back to Hell are you?" She mumbled mostly to the dog, trying to catch her breath.

She heard the breeder come running over again. “Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Is she okay?”

Byul bumped her nose with the dog’s pinching at the softness of its ears before handing the dog back. “She's fine, it was a close call though.” When the breeder had the beagle secured in his arms, she saw that same apprehensive look cross his face. She smirked. “You might as well ask.”

He looked embarrassed to be caught staring, bowing low before her. “Forgive me for being rude. I didn't think that--”

"A demon would save a dog?" Byul finished for him, nonplussed as she brushed herself off.

The breeder nodded, looking away from her, still embarrassed. Byul smiled and began walking back to the tents where she left her camera bags. “You’d be surprised how well animals can judge a being’s character.”

“Yes. Uhm. I think I just learned that today.” When she looked at him, the breeder was smiling back at her hesitantly. Byul bowed once, a quick dip of her head and her shoulders, then turned to go, adjusting her bucket hat around her horns as she checked her phone. There was a message from Yong sent while she was doing the shoot. 

_Please buy yogurt. See you at home._

_hyejin_

Hyejin was on a break between sets, halfheartedly nursing her full glass of beer when she heard a sudden sob behind her. Out of curiosity, she turned to find a woman sitting alone at one of the club’s sofas, an untouched bottle of soju beside her and her whole face covered in a handkerchief while she cried.

Hyejin turned to the bartender. “Uhm, is she alright?” She whispered, trying not to act too conspicuous. 

Her coworker shrugged in reply, mostly focused on pouring out whiskey into a tray of empty glasses. “She took a call sometime during your last song. I tried to give her some privacy, and she started crying after the call.”

Hyejin turned back to her glass, biting at her lip. She glanced back behind her to the woman, who wasn’t crying as much now but still sniffling into a ruined handkerchief. In front of her, the bartender smirked, “I wouldn’t Hyejin-ssi.”

She hummed. “I suppose if you’ve lived as long as me, you stop caring about things like shyness.” Hyejin said, taking a huge gulp of her beer before standing up.

“5,000 Won says it’s a failed job opportunity,” the bartender said, smirking. Hyejin raised a single eyebrow at him before reaching across the bar to shake his hand “Deal, but if I win, you serve that poor woman another bottle of soju on the house.”

The bartender laughed, shaking her hand before giving her the thumbs up. “You’re on.” Hyejin slinked away, beer glass in hand as she walked over to where the woman was still crying. 

“Excuse me?”

The woman started, staring at her with wide eyes before hastily turning away wiping furiously at her face with her sleeves. “I’m sorry. Please don’t mind me.” Hyejin smiled, moving her beer from one hand to another before motioning toward the empty chair near the woman. “Would it be alright if I sat down?”

The woman still wasn’t looking at her, unmoving although Hyejin could hear her continued sniffling. “You don’t have to worry ma’am, I haven’t harmed another human in over ninety years.”

That seemed to get a reaction out of the woman, turning to Hyejin with even wider eyes. With a simple shrug, Hyejin flashed a quick smile, putting her fangs in full display. “You’re the jazz singer,” the woman said. Hyejin nodded, taking another sip of her beer. 

The woman made another attempt at wiping her face before motioning with her hand, “Please, sit.”

They sat in an awkward silence for a while, Hyejin content to just sipping at her beer and keeping the woman company. It didn’t miss her notice how the woman eyed the glass of beer in her hands every few seconds. Finally, Hyejin chuckled, setting her glass down. “Would you like to ask me?”

The woman gaped at her for a few moments, blushing in embarrassment before finally asking. “I thought vampires only drink blood?”

Hyejin nodded, fingers tracing at the lip of her glass. “We do, but that doesn’t mean we cant enjoy normal food too. Blood is for sustenance, this” she picked up her beer glass, toasting the woman before taking a sip, “is for fun.”

The woman nodded, still quietly staring at her hands before finally nodding and leaning forward, burying her face in her palms. “My boyfriend broke up with me. Over the phone.”

Hyejin nodded, not saying anything. The woman looked up at her and continued, “Tonight is--was our anniversary.” Hyejin winced at that, “I’m sorry.”

The woman scoffed once, finally reaching for her soju bottle and taking a few deep gulps. “I should have known. The signs were there but I just kept clinging on. I smothered him.” She stared at Hyejin, embarrassed again. “I’m sorry, this must seem all very juvenile to you.”

“Not at all,” Hyejin said, “What you’re experiencing now is just as valid as what other women have experienced decades before you.”

The woman took another sip of her soju. “Have you ever--?” She trailed off, but the rest of her question was still plain. Hyejin downed the last of her beer, chuckling and nodding. “Yes, many times.”

“Oh my,” the woman mumbled, mostly to herself. They were silent again for a few minutes. On the other side of the club, Hyejin caught sight of the club manager, waving at her before tapping at the watch on his wrist. Hyejin nodded at him before standing up and smiling at the woman. “I have to perform again, but thank you for letting me sit with you.”

As she turned to go, she heard the woman call out, “I know it gets better, but how do you get to that point?”

Hyejin turned back, smiling, “One day at a time, I suppose. I think you have to let yourself feel the sadness, so that when you experience love again, it feels brighter and richer.”

The woman smiled at her, nodding and mumbling a soft thanks. Before Hyejin went back on stage, she passed by the bar. “I believe you owe that woman a bottle of soju,” she said. The bartender laughed, already pulling one out from the refrigerator. 

“Nothing gets past you, Hyejin-ssi.”

Much later, when Hyejin was already bundled up and ready to leave, she heard a distinctly feminine throat clear behind her. She turned to find the woman from earlier, giving her a watery smile. "Thank you," the woman said, "Your words really helped me tonight."

Hyejin smiled in return, bowing once before reaching out to shake the woman's hand. "It was nothing, I'm glad I could help."

The woman looked like she was about to say something else when her eyes widened and she immediately pulled at Hyejin's hand, wrenching her out of the way from a busboy halfway through tripping over his shoelaces, a tray of empty glasses shattering at the spot where Hyejin had been standing just moments earlier. They stared at each other in shock before Hyejin managed a breathy chuckle, carefully sidestepping the broken shards of glass. "I think we're even now." She told the woman, who looked back at her and smiled even wider. 

_yongsun_

Yongsun woke up to the sound of Hyejin coming home from work, the TV was still playing the horror movie marathon she had been watching. Beside her on the sofa, Byul was fast asleep.

“Why are you still awake, Unnie?” Hyejin asked as she hung up her coat. Yongsun paused the TV stretching out her arms and her wings, their living room momentarily glowing bright. 

“Byul and I were watching a horror marathon. We must have fallen asleep halfway through the second one though.”

As if hearing her name, the demon on the sofa groaned softly, turning on her side so one of her arms hung limply off the sofa, still asleep. Yongsun and Hyejin laughed under their breaths. 

“How was work?” Yong asked, walking past the vampire and into the kitchen to pull out the bottle of yogurt Byul had brought home, pouring herself a glass and taking a sip. After a moment’s thought, Yong set down her yogurt and began hunting through the cupboards for the pack of chips she knew Byul hid from her. 

“Unnie, what do you do everyday?”

The question took Yongsun by surprise as she searched for the snack. When she poked her head out from the cupboard, she saw that Hyejin was sitting at their dining table, wiping at her face with a makeup wipe. Yongsun smiled, turning back to searching for the bag of chips.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I have the jazz club. Wheeinie sells and exhibits with her art collective, Byulyi-unnie does her freelance work. What do you do everyday while the rest of us are out?”

Yongsun finally locates the chips, swiping them from the very back before returning with both the snack and the yogurt drink to continue her movie. “Well, someone has to take care of you three,” the angel said, teasingly, starting up her movie again. 

Hyejin laughed softly, shaking her head before making her own way upstairs and to her bedroom. “Good morning Unnie."

“Good morning Hyejin-ah.” Yong called out, eating her snack and finishing her movie alone. When she was done, the angel walked turned off the TV. She hesitated for a moment before turning back to the sofa and kneeling in front of Byul.

“Byul-ah.” She said softly, shaking the demon by the shoulder until Byul groaned again. Eyes squeezing shut tightly before blearily opening to blink up at her. “Come on,” Yong said, pulling at Byul’s arm, “let’s go to bed.”

“How did the movie end?” Byul mumbled, sitting up before letting herself be dragged up the stairs and into their shared bedroom.

“We can watch it again tomorrow,” Yong whispered, steering her demon to the bed before going through the motions of tucking Byul in. She looked down at Byul, making sure she was fast asleep again before sneaking back out of their bedroom. 

In the gray light of early morning, Yongsun walked to the nearest window in their apartment, the one just beside their sofa, waving a hand before the glass to reveal several angelic symbols hovering in the air. She studied them briefly, seeing that a few of were misaligned or warped. She wiped them away and redrew them again, new and correct this time before moving on to the other windows and their front door, fixing and straightening symbols as she went along. 

Once the entire first floor was secured, she moved on to the rooms upstairs, first adjusting the symbols on the bathroom window, before sneaking into Wheein’s room, then Hyejin’s, trying not to wake her roommates.

When she was satisfied, she tiptoed back into her and Byul’s room, fixing the symbols on their window before heaving a sigh of relief and finally letting herself crawl back into bed.

Instinctively, Byul shifted to make space for her, a warm hand automatically coming up to rest on her waist. “Are we safe?” Byul mumbled, the words muffled by her pillow.

“There’s nothing to be worried about.” Yong muttered, finally letting herself drift off to sleep.

When she woke up again, it was to the bright sunshine already filtering in through their window. Byul’s side of the bed was empty, and she could smell breakfast sausages frying from downstairs. She combed at the ruffled feathers of her wings before plucking off her halo, widening it and stepping through, changing from her pajamas to a cotton dress. The clock on their bedside table reading a little past noon.

Once she made it downstairs, she saw the rest of her roommates laughing over brunch. Yongsun smiled, “I guess we all slept in huh?” She said, grabbing her own plate and joining them. 

“Speak for yourself, Unnie.” Hyejin grumbled. Wheein and Byul laughed. “I actually had the weirdest dream,” Hyejin continued, her voice still hoarse from sleep. “I dreamt Yongsun-unnie came into my room and tried to purify my soul.”

Wheein burst out laughing, Byul shared a knowing look with Yong but said nothing. The demon was the only one who knew Yong would meticulously fix the angelic barrier around the apartment whenever she could. Effectively protecting her roommates from harm everyday.

In the here and now, Yong smiled at the other girls around the table, comforted by their smiles and laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up that there might not be an update next week because I'm foreseeing a very busy time at my job, but not to worry! Your favorite supernatural roommates will be back soon enough! As always, please leave a comment or even a critique!! I welcome all because it keeps me motivated!!


	5. Occupational Hazards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even as a demon living in the 21st century, there are a few things Byul can't control, or || a 5+1 chapter of Byul's most hated demonic occupational hazard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baack! I realized while rereading the earlier chapters that I tend to make things rather boring :( I promise to only update with fun chapters from now on. Starting with this! A 5+1 chap featuring everyone's favorite demonic entity. 
> 
> !!Trigger Warning!! Very minor mentions of self harm in this chapter, if this bothers you, just skip the paragraph that starts with "What's your name?" and pick back up at "Yang Ara,"
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone still sticking with this story!

_i. the first time_

Byul’s first time was with a shaman in what was then the Goryeo kingdom. One minute, she was lounging in Hell with her sisters, the next thing she knew she was face to face with a middle aged woman who was staring expectantly at her with a bowl of pig’s blood sitting between them. Something like dried rice grains floating in the liquid.

“I summoned you, demon,” the shaman intoned, “to strike a deal and save my village in exchange for this blood sacrifice.” Byul gently sniffed at the bowl of blood, doing her best not to flinch when the metallic smell assaulted her nose.

She spent a few moments looking around the small hut, at the candles that covered every available surface, and finally, at the carefully drawn pentagram below her, drawn in chalk and clay with offerings at each point before her brain finally caught on to what was happening.

Her first summoning. 

It was fun, all things considered. She granted the shaman’s village rich crops and healthy livestock and gave the shaman the ability to communicate with spirits from beyond the grave. Not long after, she was summoned again, by a different shaman from a different village and throughout those first few centuries she granted healthy crops, or helped emperors defeat their enemies, once she was even summoned to return a loved one back from the grave. That one turned out horribly, and she preferred not to look back on it.

Back then, the summoning itself didn’t bother her, as a demon she supposed it was an occupational hazard. It would be a lie though, to say that she wasn’t thankful when the proper summoning rituals were lost to time and age through the centuries. 

Still, every now and then, a group of giddy middle schoolers will stumble upon the right steps on the internet. Or a wannabe satanist will come across an old book that actually has the correct words. Now, when it happens Byul hates it.

She prefers not being summoned at all.

  
  


_ii. while watching TV_

Beside Byul, Wheein was on the edge of her seat, a pillow hugged tight to her chest while the TV played the latest episode in a new drama series she stumbled upon the other day. She could feel Wheein’s tail wagging incessantly as it thumped against the side of her arm. In the background, their microwave beeped softly. Wheein poked Byul’s side with her elbow.

“What?” the demon asked, equally transfixed to what was happening on the screen.

“Popcorn.” Wheein said, by way of explanation. She held back a gasp when the two leads passed each other on the street but failed to recognize the other. Damn these time-travelling romances. 

She knew it was a lost cause, but Byul tried anyway, “No way, I was the one who set it up, you should be the one to get it out.” There was a lull in the story on TV, a side plot set in the other timeline, Wheein took this opportunity to look at her and subject Byul to the full force of her pleading brown eyes. Byul resisted for all of five seconds before rolling her eyes and standing up.

Back on the sofa, Wheein laughed in triumph. “Thank you, Unnie!” Byul shook her head as she walked over to their kitchen. While she transferred their popcorn into a large bowl, she felt an odd tugging sensation at her nape, like gravity pulling her towards its center.

She stretched out a non-existent crick in her neck and turned to walk back to the sofa, bowl of popcorn in hand. Before she could take another step, she vanished from the apartment, their bowl of popcorn crashing to the kitchen floor. 

“What was that?” Yongsun’s voice called from upstairs.

Wheein peeked her head around the shelf, took one look at the mess and sighed, she paused the drama and stood up. “Nothing!” She said, heading towards their door and unlocking it first before crouching down to start cleaning the mess in the kitchen, picking up the scattered popcorn kernels and dutifully placing them back in the bowl.

When Byul opened her eyes, it was to the sound of startled screams and the feeling of grass under her legs. She looked around and recognized the skyline that surrounded Seoul’s National Cemetery.

“Y-you aren’t my grandfather!” A male voice said, pointing an accusing finger at her. 

Byul sighed, flopping down on the grass and trying to stamp down her frustration. “You think?” Byul said, her sarcasm coming out as a growl. When she sat back up, she looked around at her summoners. They looked to be a group of college students, most of them boys. 

“I don’t understand!” The male student from earlier said, flashlight pointing down at a piece of paper he was holding. “I followed the instructions perfectly, I even sliced my palm with my grandfather’s old knife!” Beside him, his friends were staring warily at her, some of them pointedly looking at her horns.

Mostly because she was annoyed at being pulled from watching TV, Byul let her eyes flash red, and took some pleasure at hearing all of them gasp in fear. She stood up and dusted herself off before walking over the student, grabbing the piece of paper, and holding it over one of the candles around the pentagram that summoned her, watching it turn to ash. “Don’t believe everything you download off the internet.” Byul said.

“And leave the dead alone!” She called out to the group as she walked away toward the cemetery’s east exit. 

It took almost an hour to hail a cab and get back to their apartment building. By the time she reached the door, finding it thankfully unlocked, she poked her head in and saw Wheein napping lightly in front of the TV, half-eaten bowl of popcorn balancing on her lap while the TV kept playing the drama they were watching. 

She reclaimed her earlier position and rewinded all the way back to the episode she stopped at, grabbing the bowl of popcorn and pressing play while Wheein continued sleeping peacefully beside her. 

  
  


_iii. while grocery shopping_

It was rare that Hyejin had to go out during the day. Thankfully, the myth of vampires bursting into a cloud of dust in the sunlight was completely false, but she would get sick for at least a week after if she stayed out too long. 

Today was one of those rare cases. Byul had caught the vampire eating the last of Wheein’s favorite noodles. When she pointed it out, the vampire stared wide-eyed at her before grabbing her wallet and begging that Byul accompany her to the grocery so she could buy more before Wheein came home.

“Thanks for coming with me, Byulie-unnie.” Hyejin mumbled. Gripping her umbrella tightly as she readjusted her sunglasses. It was a cloudy day, but just the ten minute walk to the nearest grocery was already giving her a headache. 

“You could have just given me money, you know,” Byul said, staring at the vampire with no small amount of concern. “I could have run to the store and bought the noodles myself.”

Hyejin resolutely shook her head “I made the mistake, Unnie. I have to be the one to fix it.”

Byul sighed but let the subject drop. When they reached the grocery, she had to run inside to find the manager and then drag him back outside to where Hyejin was patiently waiting. A pained furrow on her brow. 

“Please invite my friend inside to enter your store,” Byul said, bowing slightly. Hyejin bowed too, taking great care to make sure her umbrella didn’t smack anyone in the face. The manager raised both eyebrows in surprise before addressing Byul.

“Why didn’t you just do the purchasing for her?”

Byul stared pointedly at Hyejin before shrugging at the manager. He stared at them curiously for a few more seconds before sighing and inviting Hyejin inside.

“That never gets any easier,” Hyejin said as she stowed away her umbrella. Inside the store she seemed less pained, but it was still early in the afternoon, and Byul wanted to get her home as soon as possible.

They were walking along the aisle full of instant noodles when she felt the familiar tugging sensation again. “Oh no.”

“What is it?” Hyejin asked, pulling out the one they needed. When the vampire turned to look beside her, Byul was already gone.

This time, when Byul opened her eyes, she appeared to be in an abandoned hospital, a circle of high school girls still in their uniforms staring at her wide eyed. 

“It worked.” One of them mumbled, looking stunned. Byul sighed, and ran a few fingers through her hair, past her horns. “Shouldn’t you girls be in school?” She asked, already getting up to leave and hoping that Hyejin would make it home alright. 

“No--wait!” A different girl said, holding up an old book, there was a library sticker at the lower base of the spine, “we summoned you! That means you have to do our bidding right?”

Byul snorted, dusting off her jeans and looking around at the dilapidated state of the building they were in. The stench of mildew and dust was heavy in the air, all the walls were discolored and peeling, some graffiti scattered here and there. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust and various hospital equipment and papers left over from when the facilities were still in use.

“You girls wanted to make a deal with a demon?” She asks incredulously, “in here?” 

“There was a rumor that a demon haunted this hospital, causing one of the doctors to start murdering the patients.” One of the girls said, her tone somber, “And we heard that if you successfully summoned a demon, it would grant you a wish.”

Byul couldn’t help but scoff. 

“If you are the demon of this hospital,” another girl said, defiant now, “we summoned you, so you have to do what we say and grant us our wishes.

“First of all,” Byul said, “if there was a demon in this hospital, you girls should be glad they didn’t appear to do you harm.” She carefully side-stepped the students and their shocked faces, “Secondly, I’m not a genie,” she said, more than a little annoyed, “I don’t grant wishes, I make deals. I’m sure a bunch of high schoolers like you wouldn’t be ready to pay the price needed to strike a deal with me.”

As she walked away, she turned around just enough to stick a forked tongue out at the high schoolers, leaving cries of frustration in her wake.

When she reached the apartment, Wheein was already home, happily slurping away at a bowl of noodles while Hyejin was getting ready to leave for her job. “Hyejin-ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t--”

“It’s okay, Unnie!” Hyejin said as she chuckled, walking past with a towel wrapped around her hair. “When I got home, Yongsun-unnie explained what must have happened. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“What were you doing out anyway?” Wheein asked over a mouthful of noodles. Byul and Hyejin’s eyes widened at the same time and the demon had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“Uhm. Emergency grocery run.” Hyejin said.

“Very important.” Byul added, smiling at Wheein then making a beeline for the stairs before the werewolf could ask again.

  
  


_iv. while at work_

This time around, Byul was thankful that she was at least three-quarters of the way done with the shoot before she was summoned.

One of the country’s bigger fashion magazines had hired her this time, and her subject was a rising girl group. She had just finished two outfit sets of solo, group, and unit photos and was waiting for the girls to get into their last set of outfits and makeup looks for the day when she felt the familiar tugging sensation at the back of her neck again.

Byul sighed, carefully placing her camera on the nearest table before calmly standing up from her seat and walking towards the bathroom.

“Where are you going, Moon Byul-ssi?” The magazine’s editor asked, standing up as well.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can!” She replied, closing the door behind her just as she vanished.

This time she was in a dorm room, staring at a couple of wide-eyed university boys, one of them holding up a knife to a cage that had a small kitten inside.

“Hey!” Byul smacked the knife out of the student’s hand and grabbed the cage, carefully extracting the kitten from inside and letting it burrow deeper into her hoodie. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Please!” The other boy said, prostrating himself in front of her, his forehead pressed firmly to the floor. “You have to help us pass our exams! If we fail, our parents will disown us!”

Byul frowned, before glancing at her watch. Hair and makeup usually took at least an hour or two, plus there were twelve members to that group, she probably had some time. “Okay, but no sacrificing animals and if you summon me again, I’m going to curse your souls to be tormented for all eternity.”

The boys looked at each other for a beat before nodding and turning back to her. “Deal.” They said in unison. Byul rolled her eyes, but stared around the dorm room for a few moments before her eyes landed on the boys’ cellphones on a study desk near the window. “Give me your phones.” She said.

“W-what for?” the boy with the knife asked, reaching over behind him to grab the phones and hand them to her.

“I’m not about to let you kill this kitten.” Byul said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the word. “The phones are your end of the deal.”

“What? B-but--”

“It’s the phones or I’m leaving and you can pass those exams on your own.”

The boys glared at each other, having a murmured argument while Byul played with the kitten on the floor of their dorm. Finally one of them sighed and handed the devices to her. “Fine. But this better work.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Byul said. She smirked as she pocketed the devices. When she blinked again, her eyes had turned a deep black and the air in the dorm suddenly turned several degrees hotter. A swirling heat and dizziness overcame both students, one of them dropping to his knees as he clutched at his head. When it was done, both students were passed out on the floor, and Byul felt a little drained. 

She shook her head, cradling the kitten in her arms before exiting the dorms and hailing a cab back to the studio. Luckily, the housing center she was summoned to was only a thirty minute cab ride away. When she arrived, the girl group had just finished up with their hair and makeup and were chatting amicably on the set.

“Moon Byul-ssi!” The magazine editor cried, running over to her as she reentered. She glanced curiously at the kitten in Byul’s arms before continuing, “We tried to find you in the bathroom but you--”

“I’m really sorry,” Byul said, bowing once before heading over to the table where she left her camera, “Demon business.”

“Oh. Uhm. Right.” The magazine editor replied, nodding before motioning toward the kitten, “Was the kitten part of the, uh--”

“An unexpected bonus,” Byul said, grabbing her camera and heading to the set. A few of the girl group members perked up as she approached, “I figured we could use it for the shoot, then you can drop it off at the nearest shelter after, or one of the girls can adopt it, if their agency will let them.”

The final shoot turned out better than expected. The kitten added a nice element to the photos, and when the pictures went public, Byul’s photography account was spammed with girl group fans thanking her for taking such good pictures. Amongst the flood of fan love were two comments that thanked her for helping them with their exams. 

Byul smirked down at her new phone before pocketing it. Not a bad day’s work.

  
  


_v. while sleeping_

When they first started sharing a bed, Byul and Yong had learned early on that the best way to sleep was facing each other. Not even for any particularly romantic reason, but because if Yong turned her back to Byul in bed, the demon would get pushed off the mattress by the angel’s impressive wingspan and if Byul did the same, she ran the risk of gouging Yong's eyes out with her horns when she stretched in the morning. 

Face to face was simply the option that caused the least bodily harm. 

Which was why, when Byul felt an odd dropping sensation in her stomach followed by the feeling that she was now lying on a cold floor, she was sure it was because Yong had turned in her sleep and she had gotten shoved off the bed. Again.

“Yong. You did it again.” Byul grumbled, reaching a hand up to find the edge of the bed so she could hoist herself up; only there was none. What there was, however, was a very audible gasp followed by a voice that wasn’t Yong’s, “Oh my god.”

Her whole body woke up immediately then. Byul sat straight up, looking about her wildly and taking in the bedroom that definitely wasn’t hers. She growled and turned to the direction of the voice, coming face to face with a young girl, definitely no older than fifteen.

“I-I didn’t think that would work.” The young girl said, staring at Byul wide-eyed, arms hugging her knees tight. Byul stared at the shoddily drawn pentagram on the bedroom floor as well as the candles strewn about the room. Next to the girl was an open tablet screen to what looked like a cheesily decorated website for the occult. Of course.

Without warning, Byul reached for the tablet, closed the website page and deleted the girl’s search history before tossing the tablet unto the girl’s bed. She would deal with the website in the morning.

“It’s bad to summon demons.” Byul said, standing up and already making her way towards the girl’s bedroom door. She had barely taken two steps when she felt the girl’s hand grip at the hem of her sleep sweatshirt.

“Wait!” The girl said. When Byul turned around, she saw them. She sighed, frustration already fading away entirely as she crouched back down and took the girls arm carefully into her own hands. The girl refused to look her in the eye.

“What’s your name?” Byul asked softly, pulling the girl’s pajama sleeve back down over her forearm, covering the thin scars she saw there.

“Yang Ara.” The girl mumbled pulling her arm away and hugging at her knees again, self conscious. Byul sighed, rubbing at her face and making a feeble attempt to fix her bed head, combing strands of hair away from where they tangled up around her horns during sleep.

“Why did you summon me, Yang Ara-ssi?” Byul said, keeping her voice pitched low and comforting. The girl stared back at her briefly before shrugging, fingers picking at a loose thread on her pajama bottoms. 

“I didn’t think it would work,” Ara said again. They stayed quiet for a few moments before Ara looked up and said, “If you’re a demon, are you here to eat my soul?”

Byul chuckled, adjusting herself so that she was seated in front of Ara. “Human souls aren’t to my taste.” Byul said. She looked around the room some more, noting that it was rather sparse for a teenager’s room, no posters or photos or anything of the sort. “You’re lonely aren’t you?” Byul asked, hedging at a guess. Ara stared at her wide-eyed before nodding, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Byul said, scooting over a bit closer and rubbing at the girl’s arm. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Ara, quietly sobbing into her arms while Byul rubbed at her arm, whispering comforting words.

When Ara had quieted down at last, Byul grabbed at the blanket on her bed and gently dabbed at the tear tracks on her cheeks. “Would you like a friend, Ara-ssi?” Ara nodded.

Byul scuttled closer still, until they were sitting side by side, “I’ll make you a simple deal then,” Byul said, “Don’t try summoning demons again, and I’ll be your friend.”

“How will I contact you?” Ara asked, eyes turning pleading. 

“Give me your phone.” Byul held her hand out, accepting the device and adding herself as a new contact. “I don’t have my phone with me right now, but tomorrow I’ll even add you on KTalk and follow you on Insta. I’ll be the best demon friend ever.”

Ara laughed, taking her phone back and nodding in thanks. Byul chanced a glance at the girl’s covered forearm again before sighing and carefully placing an arm around Ara.

“If ever you get dark thoughts again, don’t hurt yourself okay? Just call me.” Byul whispered, rubbing calming circles on the girl’s arm with her thumb. She felt Ara nod against her side. Byul stayed until she felt Ara’s breathing slow, she checked to make sure the girl was really asleep before gently lifting her up and carrying her over to her bed. She snapped her fingers once to erase the pentagram on the floor, before sneaking out of the room. Trying not to wake Ara or her parents.

Once Byul had successfully sneaked outside the apartment unit Ara lived in, snapping her fingers again to lock the apartment door behind her, she was surprised to find herself inside her own apartment building, just a few floors above her own unit. She chuckled. “Well that’s fortunate.”

When she reached the outside of Room 1031, she paused, realizing the door was probably locked. Byul briefly wondered if she should try knocking, or just sit outside and wait for Hyejin to come home at dawn. When she tried the door, however, she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was unlocked

Byul stepped inside, coming face to face with a sleepy angel napping on the dinner table. Yong’s wing feathers all ruffled and her hair done up in a messy bun.

“Hey” Byul whispered, gently shaking Yong awake, “come on. Let’s go back.” Yong groaned once, acknowledging her before standing up and letting Byul help her back to their room.

“How’d you know?” Byul whispered once the door to their bedroom had been shut behind them.

“Felt you vanish,” Yong mumbled sleepily, already climbing into bed and lying on her side facing Byul. Within seconds they were both asleep again.

  
  


_+1. while waiting for the train_

The shoot she’d been hired to do for a skincare line had been all the way on the other side of Seoul, and by the time it finished, it was already nighttime. Byul considered riding a cab all the way back to her apartment, before remembering that the rush hour prices would be too much to handle. Sighing, she hitched her camera bags up a little higher on her shoulders and began walking towards the nearest train station.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Wheein had texted her a photo to their apartment group chat. It was of their dining room table, covered in various side dishes and the old hot plate they had bought on sale a few years back. A few plates of pork belly and beef strips were in the very center.

 _Grill night!_ Came the text following the picture, _hurry home Unnie!_

Byul felt her stomach grumble in response. The train station was already ahead. She waited until she had descended the steps before shooting off a quick reply:

_Don’t eat it all you pigs!_

By the time she reached the platform for the train that would lead her back to her own neighborhood, her shoulders were already sore from carrying her bags. Byul was just about to snap her fingers to make her bags at least feel a little lighter when the station’s PA system crackled to life.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, due to an unforeseen complication, the 7:47 train headed to Janghanpyeong will be delayed for fifteen minutes. We deeply apologize for this inconvenience.”

Byul felt her stomach growl again. She pulled out her phone and sent a string of crying emojis to the group chat.

_Train is delayed. Save me some food._

By the time she pocketed her phone, she was just about ready to really snap her fingers this time. The weight of all her cameras already causing an ache in her lower back. That was, until she felt that tugging sensation again. 

“Shit,” Byul mumbled just as she vanished from the station, startling nearby commuters.

When she opened her eyes though, she was back in her own apartment, the sound of Wheein and Hyejin laughing while Yong was smirking in front of her, a piece of chalk in her hand.

“Did you--?” Byul began, staring down at a perfectly drawn pentagram on the floor. Yong tossed the chalk to the sofa before helping Byul with her bags. “You sounded so pathetic on the chat,” The angel teased, setting Byul’s bags aside and leading her toward the dining area.

“Ooh, does this mean Unnie gets to do us a favor now?” Hyejin asked, already setting a few strips of meat on the hot plate.

“It doesn’t work that way!” Byul laughed, accepting a plate from Wheein, “and shouldn’t you be at work?”

The vampire shrugged, “The club is closed for routine inventory checks. I have the night off.”

“Come on,” Wheein cajoled, cutting up strips of meat for Hyejin to cook, “we saved you! You definitely owe us!”

“Fine, fine!” Byul said, palms up, feigning annoyance even though there was a telltale smile pulling up the corners of her lips. “just one favor, but that’s it!”

"Excellent," Yong said, her smirk downright wicked, "You can do the dishes and clean up after we're done."

"Nevermind," Byul said, pretending to turn around, "I'll take my chances with the trains."

The statement was meant with cheers and laughter, she smiled at all of them, settling down into the dining table. She still hated being summoned, and definitely preferred never to be summoned at all. Unless the summoners were her roommates. She supposed she could make an exception for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geek out with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/_punsandroses_) if you'd like! I'm always looking for more online moos to be friends with :3


	6. Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wheein had a plan for the Lunar New Year. It was foolproof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially i was going to make this a Valentine's chapter, but I thought that was probably overdone and settled for the Lunar New Year instead. That being said, Happy Year of the Ox everyone!
> 
> Hope it'll be a prosperous one for you all!

Wheein woke up on the day of the New Year excited, she had a plan for how she wanted to surprise The Unnies and Hyejin and now she couldn’t wait to get to it. When she sat up, however, her head began spinning and she felt a familiar heaviness in her limbs. 

“Why does the New Year always have to be on a new moon.” She grumbled to herself, scrubbing at her face and trying to fight through the sluggishness all over her body. 

Her mother once explained it to her as: their supernatural strength came from their wolf nature, and the moon called to their wolf nature. So on nights of the new moon, their wolf natures went away with the moon, and they were left at their weakest. As humans.

Still, there were New Year’s festivities to prepare for, and Wheein was determined to get through them, even if she felt like half a migraine away from passing out. 

Her plan was simple enough, first she would treat everyone to lunch and order enough tteokguk and jeon and galbi-jim to cover their tiny dining table downstairs. Then, she would surprise her roommates with the sets of modern hanboks she had pre ordered weeks ago, keeping them hidden under her bed until that day. It was a holiday so she knew Hyejin had the night off. Once it was late enough in the afternoon for Hyejin to be outside without getting sick, they could all go to the New Year street fair by the Han River and play with sparklers and eat until the fireworks that night.

It was fool proof.

When she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, The Unnies were already there, huddled over a boiling pot and arguing between themselves. 

“There’s not enough water.” Byul mumbled, bottle already angled at the pot, but Yong elbowed her away, whining and swatting at the demon with her spoon.

“There is! I’m telling you if we add any more it will taste horrible! Oh Wheein-ah! You’re awake!”

“You’re up late,” Byul remarked, not putting the bottle down but stepping away regardless, eyeing the boiling soup with narrowed eyes. “Come here and tell Yongsun-unnie that this soup is too thick.”

“What are you making?” Wheein asked, already missing her wolf sense of smell. She walked over anyway, dutifully taking a sip at the proffered spoon that Yong held out. Tteokguk. Wheein shrugged, trying not to let her distress show, there were still plenty of other things she could order for lunch. “It tastes fine to me.” 

Yong smiled smugly over at the demon, wiggling her shoulders for emphasis as she stirred. Wheein watched the rice cakes swirling around in the broth as Yong stirred. She would just order jap chae for lunch then. No problem.

“So I was thinking for later-” Wheein began, going for nonchalance as she stirred at the bowl of soup Yong had given her.

“Which reminds me, I’m going to Ikea if you guys want to come along,” Yong said, over a mouthful of rice cake, “I need to get us a new water dispenser after the last one broke down the other day.”

“I can go with you,” Byul said, “We can get lunch after.”

Wheein tried not to let her disappointment show, even though she felt her shoulders slump ever so slightly. “Make sure you get one that actually dispenses hot water this time.” Yong smiles wryly, nodding, but Byul was already staring at her curiously, head tilted. “You okay, Wheein?”

She nodded, “New moon,” she said instead, by way of explanation. It worked out in her favor, the sluggishness of her fully human self masking her overall letdown.

“Do you need us to take care of you?” Yong asked, already clearing their bowls away and gently squeezing Wheein’s shoulder as she passed, “The water dispenser can probably wait.”

“No, no!” Wheein was already feeling embarrassed at herself. She should have just planned New Year’s with her roommates instead of trying to surprise them. “Uhm, Hyejin can look out for me while you’re gone.” Spending New Year’s with Hyejin would work out well too.

“Oh! But didn’t she mention going out to dinner with her friend from the Seocho coven?” Byul said, putting away pots and bowls after Yongsun washed them. “I can stay with you, Wheein-ah. We know how hard the New Moon is for you!”

More than the embarrassment, Wheein was feeling very frustrated. She shook her head vehemently, ignoring how the motion amplified her sudden lightheadedness. “Please, don’t. It’s fine! I’ll be fine, Unnie, seriously! It’s not like this is my first time being alone during a New Moon.”

The Unnies stared at her for a few beats before looking to each other, having one of those silent conversations that Wheein had grown used to over the years of living together. 

“Okay,” Yong said, dragging out the word into two more syllables. “But call if you need us and we’ll come rushing back.”

Wheein had already stood up, Turning past the bookshelf as she headed toward the stairs, “I’m going to be fine,” she said with an absentminded wave of her hand. When she made it back inside her room, she fell back into a disgruntled heap unto the bed. Before she knew it, she fell back asleep.

She really hated new moons. 

When she woke up again, she was sure the Unnies had left already, and a peek at the clock on her phone told her it was just a little after lunch. She spent a few minutes scrolling through her instagram, the pictures of her other friends enjoying their New Year only souring her mood even further.

Finally, Wheein rolled out of bed again, annoyed at herself. “I’ll just have fun by myself,” she muttered, if a bit petulantly. She crouched at the foot of her bed, pulling out the boxes that had the modern hanboks she’d ordered for herself and her roommates. 

Leaving the other three on her bed, she took hers to the bathroom. After a hot shower she wore the hanbok, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. She wasn’t lying when she told her Unnies that it wouldn’t be her first new moon alone. But it would be her first New Year alone, and now Wheein was determined to make the best of it.

Seoul during the Lunar New Year was lively and exciting. Families and friend groups all in multicolored hanboks were out in the street and even without her wolf-sense of hearing, Wheein could pick up the sound of drums on the wind. She was sure there was some form of dragon dance happening in the temple nearest their apartment.

Their apartment building was a good thirty minute walk away from the Han River, but she had all the time in the world anyway. Wheein had the camera Byul had gifted her for her last birthday and every now and then she would pause to snap a few candid photos of other passers by in their hanboks. She still felt bone-tired, but it was a little more bearable now that she was outside. 

When she finally reached the riverbank, she couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped her lips. The street fair was in full swing, and there were traditional dancers performing in the wide space while people picnicked to the side. Wheein snapped a photo.

She stopped by a stall selling jeon and found herself a blessedly unoccupied bench. Still snapping photos every chance she got. She had a few good ones in the bunch and she could already picture using them for an exhibit in the future. The thought excited her.

Wheein felt a strange warmth through her. After her few years living in Seoul, and after making friends with other mortals, Wheein had grown to appreciate mortals a bit more. In the here and now, as a mortal temporarily sitting amongst them, she felt a strange sort of connection with these stranges celebrating the new year. The thought had her smiling.

Amidst all the excitement and the noise, she almost missed the sound of her phone ring. When she glanced at the screen, she grinned and turned on her camera for the video call.

“Happy Lunar Year!” Wheein laughed, grinning at the smiling face of one of her best friends from her old pack back in Jeon-ju. Jimin was a grey wolf, and they two had grown up together as puppies back in Jeon-ju. 

“Wheeinie! Happy Lunar Year!” Jimin’s voice was crackly through the static and the phone in her hand was shaky, almost like she was running. Wheein tried to squint to see where her friend was, but it wasn’t anywhere she recognized.

“Why are you running?” Wheein asked, giggling. There was already a slight flush along Jimin’s cheekbones. 

“I’m beginning to ask myself the same question.” Her friend replied, already out of breath. “I don’t know how humans can live like this, they must be exhausted all the time.”

“Tell me about it.” 

“I’m here!” Jimin called out, panting heavily, A flash from the corner of Jimin’s screen caught Wheein’s eye and she gasped. Even though the camera was angled awkwardly, and looking up at Jimin’s chin and up into her nose, Wheein could feel herself tear up. “You ready for your New Year surprise?” Jimin asked.

Wheein nodded, forgetting that Jimin couldn’t hear her. She watched as her friend approached a woman from behind, tapped on her shoulder, then thrusted the phone in her face.

“Jimin-ah what-- Oh!” Her mother’s face took up the whole screen. By that point Wheein could feel her tears trickling a hot trail down her her cheeks. She was smiling though.

“Mom!”

“Hello baby!” Her mom crooned, adjusting the camera angle so that Jimin could squeeze in beside her. Her friend was smiling cheekily, face still flushed from having run all the way to Wheein’s childhood home. “Happy Lunar Year!”

“Happy Lunar New Year Mom,” Wheein hiccuped, desperately wiping at her face with her free hand. She didn’t even care that some of her makeup was probably smudging on the sleeves of her new hanbok.

“Are you well?” Her mom asked, face approaching the screen as if to inspect her, “It’s the New Moon, you shouldn’t be out and about so much.”

Wheein laughed, “I’m fine Mom. The fresh air and the walk did me better than staying in bed all day.” Her mom still looked concerned but there was a warm smile on her face. Beside her, Jimin was making faces and Wheein burst out laughing. 

“We miss you, baby!” Her mother said, “I hope you’re taking care of yourself in Seoul!”

“I am,” Wheein said, voice still a bit thick, but her tears had stopped now. “I think.” She hesitated, trying to find the right words, “I think I belong here.”

Her mother nodded, smiling, “I’m glad.”

“Just make sure you still call every month!” Jimin butt in, her grin cheeky. “And keep your calendar free on Children’s Day! I’m coming over there to meet these crazy roommates of yours I’ve heard so much about.”

Wheein bounced in her seat, if her tail could manifest, she knew that it would be wagging. “As long as you don’t tell them about the time I fell in that river.”

“No promises!” Jimin said. Wheein and her mother laughed.

They spoke for several more minutes, eventually her mother had to leave to attend to other pack matters, so she and Jimin ended up talking. Wheein still on the bench by the Han River while Jimin walked to their old haunts, them reminiscing fun memories from the past.

“Call me when you get on the bus to Seoul,” Wheein said, after telling Jimin she had to end the call, “I’ll pick you up at the station.”

“Okay! Goodbye Wheeinie, we’ll talk again!” Jimin waved and made silly faces at the screen for several more seconds before the call finally ended. Wheein’s phone was hot to the touch but her heart felt light, and she didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

It was already a little later in the afternoon. She walked back to the stall selling jeon and ordered some for her roommates before beginning the long trek back to their apartment. Home. 

Wheein was absentmindedly wondering how she could subtly gift the other hanboks still in her room to Yong, Byul, and Hyejin when she opened the door to their apartment and was greeted with the sight of her roommates in their hanboks she bought. Byul let off a party popper, and Wheein yelped in surprise, eyes widening. 

“Surprise!” Yong exclaimed, her wings spreading out and knocking into Hyejin, who was busy transferring take out food from their containers into nicer bowls. “Yah, Unnie!” Hyejin swatted one of the wings away, “You’re going to cause an accident!”

“Oh! What’s this?” Wheein said, looking around at their apartment. The dining table was filled with food plus the tteokguk from that morning, there was a bag of party poppers to one corner, and someone’s phone was playing music. 

“I was looking for you in your room,” Hyejin explained, tossing out the last of the food containers, “and I saw the hanboks. They had our names on them and, well.” The vampire shrugged her smile turning playful.

“You picked them well!” Byul said, stretching out her arms and admiring the design. Hers had one black sleeve peeking out from a mostly red robe, with black satin pants.

“When we got home, Hyejin showed us the hanboks,” Yong explained, approaching Wheein to get the bag of jeon from her arm. The angel smiled at her, almost motherly, “You were trying to surprise us this morning, weren’t you? I’m sorry we ruined it. I thought this would make up for it.”

Wheein smiled at her roommates in the hanboks she picked out for them, at the effort they went to for her. That same warm feeling was back, but deeper and more special than before. 

“Just tell me you bought a working water dispenser and we’ll call it square,” Wheein teased.

Yong laughed, nodding and pulling her into the dining area to join the rest of them. After their early dinner, they opened the glass windows that led to the unit’s small balcony, letting in the cool night air. 

“I thought you were meeting up with Soo-jung, for the New Year,” Wheein asked, bumping shoulders with Hyejin as the vampire adjusted the pants of her own hanbok, Hyejin put an arm around her, hugging her close.

“Soo-jung unnie understands,” She said, in a low voice, “I have many more New Years I can spend with her just as I have countless I can spend with you and the Unnies.”

Wheein ducked her head, trying to hide her smile. She elbowed Hyejin in the side instead, “You’re gross.” she muttered, even though there was a smile on her face and laughter threatening to bubble out from her lips. Hyejin just hugged her closer.

When the sun set and the first of the fireworks began shooting into the sky, all four of them marveled at the sight together, clapping or setting off party poppers. By the end of it, Wheein was glad that at least her words to her mother earlier rang true.

She belonged here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I totally just reference the awesome MODERN HANBOKS mamamoo wore during the KBS Song Festival? why YES. Also the new moon bit is totally borrowed from my most favorite anime ever, Inuyasha. Shoutout in the comments if you noticed that too.
> 
> Next week's update is coinciding with Yong's birthday! What should a chapter dedicated to everyone's yeba leader be about? Let me know in the comments or on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/_punsandroses_)
> 
> I love hearing from you guys, it really makes my week!


	7. The Visitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yong gets a very special visit from Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY SOLAR DAY AND HAPPY MMM FANMEET DAY TOO! In light of all the stuff going on, I decided to post an hour or so earlier. Enjoy

_now_

Yong was deep in the middle of following a video tutorial for homemade gopchang when a blast of angelic light from above, miraculously shining through their ceiling, surrounded her.

 _HELLO YONGSUN_ , the Metatron said, toneless, emotionless, and filling every cavern of her mind. Yong froze, the sharp footfalls of petrichor at the back of her mouth made her swallow on reflex. She tried not to wince.

“Hello,” she said back, looking up. She felt her wings stretch out just so, feather tips brushing against the floor and the back of their sofa.

_YOUR SISTER HAS A MESSAGE FOR YOU._

Yong let out a breath she hadn’t noticed she had been holding. “I’m happy to hear from her. I will accept the message.”

_LITTLE YONG, I AM VISITING YOU NEXT WEEK. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AND BYULIE AGAIN. MAKE SURE YOU INTRODUCE ME TO YOUR NEW ROOMMATES TOO. I WANT TO EAT THAT SPICY RICE THING YOU FED ME LAST TIME._

Her sister’s message, spoken in the Metatron’s voice almost made Yong laugh. Almost. She bit at the inside of her cheek, hard enough that if she had been a mortal, she probably could have drawn blood. When the voice stopped, Yong waited a few extra seconds, just to be polite, before she replied. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said, respectfully, bowing her head, “I look forward to my sister’s arrival.”

There was a long silence wherein Yong thought that surely, the Metatron must have left the conversation, except that the holy light still surrounded her. Their whole apartment smelled of ozone now, sharp and bitter. “Uhm,” she said, hesitant, “is there anything else?”

_PLEASE INFORM YOUR SISTER, THAT THE METATRON IS NOT TO BE USED FOR TRIVIAL MESSAGES. THE METATRON IS FOR THE OFFICIAL MISSIVES OF HEAVEN._

Yongsun blushed, embarrassed, she bowed her head lower. “Yes, of course, I’m sorry. I’ll make sure she sends her messages to me a different way next time.”

_GOOD. BLESSINGS BE UPON YOU KIM YONGSUN, ANGEL OF HEAVEN._

“And also with you,” Yong replied. When the celestial light vanished, as quick as flipping off a switch, it felt as if Yong’s mind had suddenly been emptied. Left alone with just her thoughts again. She waited a few more seconds, just to be sure, before collapsing back unto a dining table chair, suddenly exhausted.

When she had recovered from her laughter, it was to the sudden realization that Heaven’s light had overcooked the gopchang meat and singed the floor in their kitchen. “Aish,” Yong shoved the dish aside, poking at the underseasoned, overcooked mess before deciding that she would cut her losses and just start again. Good thing Hyejin wasn’t due to wake up for another four hours.

_then._

Before the first children of Earth had taken their fledgling steps under the sun, Yongsun was an angel in heaven, freshly born from the holy light. She first opened her eyes to a Principality, gazing down at her (or at least she assumed it was) through a mass of wings and eyes.

“Kim Yongsun, Angel in Heaven.” The Principality said, with an authority that surged through her veins, filling her with a rightness she couldn’t put into words. She was named.

“Hmm,” The Principality looked her over, thinking, “I have just the mentor for you.”

“Mentor?” She asked, following close as they walked through gilded white halls. All around them, the lilting tones of the angelic chorus filled Yongsun’s ears. 

“Yes,” The Principality said, almost perfunctory, “It’s a new system we’re trying out. To keep our angels from falling and becoming Demons of the Dark Prince. It’s been rather successful so far.” Yongsun was in the midst of processing what she’d just heard, when-- “Sort of like a sibling program,” The Principality added, as an afterthought,

That part had Yongsun smiling, “I’m getting a sibling?”. 

“That’s one way to think of it.” The Principality said, finally turning a corner into a hallway that had a group of angels gathered around a slowly spinning orb that was an exact replica of the Earth. Some were praying, others were observing, still others would tap at a spot and vanish. Yong stared in wonder at them all.

She followed the Principality to one angel in particular, who was staring in deep concentration at a spot in South Korea, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“Kim Yonghee, Angel in Heaven,” The Principality said, startling the other angel. She bowed to the Principality once, very low. “Meet your new mentee.”

The Angel--Yonghee-- straightened before turning kind eyes to Yong, mouth instantly curving up into a smile. Yong smiled back. 

_now._

“Unnie, don’t you think you overdid it?” Byul asked, staring at the mass of groceries that covered their kitchen counter. Yong only scoffed in response.

“No.”

“There’s probably enough here to make tteokbokki for twenty people.” Byul said, sorting through the groceries, “I don’t see why you can’t just buy premade tteokbokki from the store and then heat it up when Yonghee-unnie arrives.”

“No!” Yong whined, pouting just a little bit, “If my sister is visiting then I have to make it special for her.”

Byul shrugged, “You always get so stressed out whenever your sister visits. Why not just make things easy on yourself for once?”

Yong shook her head, sectioning off the ingredients into little groups with a straightforward single mindedness. “Yonghee-unnie isn’t arriving until next week, I have just enough time and ingredients to practice making tteokbokki until I’m really good at it.”

Byul hummed in response, when Yong turned to look at her, the Demon had a soft smile on her face. “What?” Yong felt a familiar heat creep up her neck and to the back of her ears, suddenly very self conscious.

“Nothing,” Byul replied, already putting away the other piles of ingredients until only one complete set of tteokbokki ingredients was left, “You’re cute when you get all determined like that.”

Yong cringed, “Ah! You’re really gross.” She pushed Byul away for good measure, but the nerves were still there, and when she smiled at Byul, she knew that it was a halfhearted one. 

_then_.

The first time Yong step foot on Earth, it was with Yonghee. When they materialized unto the plain, they were just on the outskirts of a village. Yong looked around, taking in the feeling of wet earth beneath her bare feet and the strange smells in the air. She looked to her sister, “Where are we?”

“Korea,” Yonghee said, stepping through her halo to change from her angelic robes into Earth clothes. “Well, early Korea I suppose,” the older angel added with a shrug, “I suppose right now they dont call this land Korea just yet, but they will soon enough. It’s in the plans after all.”

Yongsun had just stepped through her own halo, shifting from her robes to a plainer set of clothes. “Why are we here, Unnie?”

Yonghee grinned, excited and mischievous all at once, “Well, little Yong, this is where you will be assigned!” 

She looked around with a gasp, eyes wide. Time passed differently in Heaven, so Yongsun couldn’t say how long she had spent since the first time Yonghee became her sister, training and learning how to be a good angel. They had long argued about when Yongsun could finally be ready to do her own angelic duties, now that the opportunity was presenting itself though, she suddenly felt unprepared.

Yonghee’s smile dimmed a bit, a kind understanding crossing her face. She placed a warm hand on Yongsun’s shoulder, her thumb rubbing affectionate circles against the skin. “Little Yong,” the other angel said, “It’s normal if you don’t feel ready, or if you’re worried that you’ll make a few mistakes, that just means you’re ready to take your angelic duties seriously, and that’s all anyone can ask.”

Her sister’s words provided some semblance of comfort, and Yong nodded. She took a deep breath, trying to quell some of the anxiety in her stomach. “How did you feel when you were given your first assignment, Unnie?” She asked.

The other angel chuckled, taking Yongsun by the arm and leading her toward the village. “Probably as tired as you’re feeling right now. But that’s why I’m here right? To help you.”

_now_.

The day before Yonghee was due to arrive, Yongsun was more on edge than usual. It didn’t help that the sound of Hyejin and Wheein fighting over the bathroom startled her into almost dropping a stack of plates she was moving from the cupboards to the table. She sighed and shook her head, setting the plates down before poking her head out of the kitchen. “Don’t fight!”

“Unnie, tell Hyejinie that it’s way past her bedtime and she should let other people use the bathroom in the morning.”

Hyejin’s reply was muffled through the bathroom door and it was too early for Yong to try and make sense of any of it. Another slam of a door followed by a frustrated growl told her that Byul was awake.

“Why is everyone so goddamn noisy?”

Yong stared at her fingers, drumming them against the table and silently praying for patience. The arguing had reached a crescendo now with Byul apparently throwing herself into the mix. Yong breathed deeply through her nose for a few seconds before ripping the halo off her head, twirling it once through her fingers, and waving it in the general direction of the upstairs.

The bright light that followed was blinding and flooded their entire apartment. When it faded away, all that was left was silence and Yong, standing in the middle of their dining area with a wolf, a bat, and a snake caught in the circle of her halo, all of them struggling to pull free.

“I said,” Yong started, calmly, eyes blazing white as her wings expanded behind her, “don’t fight.”

The struggling stopped, and she gave it a few more seconds before tapping on the golden circle so it would release her roommates. It took them a few moments to recover, divine intervention usually did that to other supernatural beings.

The first one to shift back was Byul, who glared up at Yong once before dusting herself off and sheepishly mumbling an apology. The demon made her way back upstairs and into their bedroom. Hyejin and Wheein shifted back at the same time a little after that, with the former giving the angel an even harsher glare.

“What was that for?” Hyejin snapped, disentangling herself from the werewolf and making her way to her own bedroom. When the door slammed behind her, Yongsun sighed, frustration and guilt at war in her heart.

Wheein was still seated on the floor, staring up at her with no small amount of concern. “You okay, Unnie?” She asked softly. Yongsun sighed and shook her head. 

“I should probably apologize,” The angel said, only stopping short when she caught Wheein shaking her head.

“Hyejin understands that tomorrow’s a big day for you Unnie,” Wheein said softly, finally standing up and giving her a gentle smile, “She’s just cranky cause she lacks sleep. Don’t worry about it.

Yong sighed again, sinking into one of the dining room chairs. “I’m sorry anyway, I know I’m on edge, I just can’t help it.” Wheein pulled up a chair beside her, taking one of her hands in hers and squeezing it just so. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

She squeezed Wheein’s hand in return, feeling altogether tired and anxious. “I just want things to turn out perfect for tomorrow. My sister she-- and I just--”

Wheein’s smile turned understanding, “You don’t have to prove to Yonghee-unnie that you’re doing a good job here on Earth. Anyone with eyes can see that you are.” Yong shifted, uncomfortable at having her insecurities laid bare.

Wheein stood up, patting her on the shoulder as she walked towards their coffee maker. “There’s no need to be nervous Unnie, tomorrow will go great!”

_then_.

“Do you like it?” Yonghee had asked, spreading her arms out wide in front of an apartment building. Yongsun stared at it and her sister in confusion. She and Yonghee had been on Earth for several millennia, and now it was sometime in the eighties. Living amongst mortals in all that time and spreading goodness whenever they could. 

“It’s a building, what about it?” She asked. Yonghee just chuckled, walking forward to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

“It’s where you’ll be living silly!” Yonghee said, laughing, “We, or I guess, _you_ are now the proud owner of the largest unit on the tenth floor! Now there’s no need to always move around every few years or so. You can be based in Seoul permanently!”

Yongsun was already halfway to the entrance when she paused, turning back to look at her sister. “What do you mean?” An uneasy feeling was settling in her gut.

“Well we’ve never really lived anywhere in the millennia we’ve been here, always just moving around where we’re needed. Now that our duties have been officially lessened, you can have a more permanent home of your own!” 

“But,” Yongsun began, pausing just short of entering the building, “You keep saying ‘you’, don’t you mean _we_ will have a more permanent home to live in?”

Yonghee sighed, arm still slung around Yong’s shoulders. “No I meant _you,_ little Yong. You’ll be staying here.”

She felt unmoored, and more than a little scared. “Where will you be staying?”

“I’ll be going back up to Heaven of course!” This, Yonghee said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Y-you’re leaving me?” In all their years, they had always been together. Yong tried to picture being on Earth without her sister. The thought left her panicked and frightened. Out of instinct, she gripped Yonghee’s wrist hard, as if she could keep her on Earth by the sheer force of her will alone.

Yonghee moved to stand in front of her, taking both of her hands. “You’re still my angelic sister Yong, but you’ve improved so much over the centuries, you don’t need me guiding you anymore. You can handle this plain on your own.”

“But I-”

“You’ll be great!” Yonghee said, full of warmth. The pride was emanating from her in waves and Yongsun couldn’t help but feel a little undeserving in the face of that confidence. “I have every faith in you, little Yong.” Yonghee continued, “besides, now you can move in with that demon you’ve been dancing around these last few centuries.”

Yongsun spluttered and Yonghee laughed, teasing and accepting at the same time. She felt her ears burn up in embarrassment, thankful that at least Yonghee chose that moment to hug her close. “I’m proud of you, Yongsun, you can be sure I’ll still be looking out for you from Heaven.”

When they pulled away, Yongsun could feel her throat close around her emotions, and there was a traitorous stinging in the back of her eyes that she tried not to think too much about. So instead she nodded at her sister and smiled, letting herself be lead inside her new home.

_now_.

When her sister finally arrived, Yong had been halfway through preparing the tteokbokki recipe she perfected, so Byul had opened the door. She peered over her shoulder just in time to catch the demon get pulled into a tight hug, 

“Byul-ah!”

“Oh, Unnie!”

There was laughter and Yong could hear Wheein and Hyejin approaching the front door now too, the demon introducing them to her sister. She took a deep breath, turned off the stove and turned around, coming face to face with her Yonghee, arms held open for a hug.

“Hello little Yong,” Yonghee said teasingly, an easy smile and bright laughter in her voice. Yong felt her worries move to the back of her mind, taking the last few steps forward and hugging her sister back. 

Later, when they were all crowded around the apartment’s tiny dining table, she watched her sister take a bite of her tteokbokki and nod happily at her. “This is good! You really made this?”

Yong ducked her head, smiling, beside her, Byul was already chuckling. “You should have seen Yongsun-unnie last week before you got here, every night she would try to perfect that tteokbokki, so every night that’s all we’ve been eating.”

“Unnie’s arrival has saved us,” Wheein added, mockingly serious and to the laughter of everyone present, “We can finally start eating something other than tteokbokki tomorrow.”

“Hey, you said you liked tteokbokki,” Yong said, her voice coming out defensive.

“If I ever eat tteokbokki again, it will be too soon.” Hyejin said, her tone also grave but her eyes sparkling with laughter. Yong rolled her eyes, but she could feel her lips curling traitorously upwards. 

“That sounds like Yongsun alright,” Yonghee agreed, eyes crinkling playfully at her. 

After dinner, with her three roommates setting up their TV for a movie marathon, Yongsun found herself washing the dishes with her sister. As she passed her sister another bowl to rinse off, Yonghee nudged her with one of her wings, “You seem a lot more settled than the last time I visited.”

Yong shrugged, but let herself really believe the words. Since the last time she saw her sister, she and Byul had taken in Wheein, and then a few years after that, Hyejin had moved in. Back when she first realized she would be living on her own for the first time in several millennia, the thought of it scared her. The idea of being alone for all eternity was too frightening to comprehend. 

Now, in the background she could hear her roommates fighting over which movie they would watch first, the sound of it making her happy.

“I guess I am,” Yong replied, nudging her sister back with her own wing, “I’m glad you’re here though.”

Yonghee pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head. “Me too. I’m proud of you, Yongsun.”

Yongsun smiled at her sister and nodded, feeling that familiar sting behind her eyes again. She blinked a few times before turning back to the soap and the dishes. It was only later on, sandwiched between Byul and Yonghee, with Wheein and Hyejin cuddled up on the floor and a horror movie playing on their TV that Yong finally let the last of her anxieties go. 

If her sister was proud of her, then she could be proud of herself too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday to our favorite leader! 
> 
> let me know what you think in the comments or feel free to yell with me on twitter! As always, comments give me the motivation to update :D


	8. The Package

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The package arrived early in the day, while Hyejin was asleep. Which meant that in the hours before the vampire woke up, it was subject to the single-minded scrutiny of Hyejin’s roommates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1k+ words of pure fluff based off of [this ILA scene](https://twitter.com/_punsandroses_/status/1354607443150467072)
> 
> This chapter is of course dedicated to our beautiful, strong maknae. Who else cried after the most recent ILA episode with Hyejin? :(

The package arrived early in the day, while Hyejin was asleep. Which meant that in the hours before the vampire woke up, it was subject to the single-minded scrutiny of Hyejin’s roommates.

“Maybe it’s a spare coffin.” Byul offered, spoonful of oatmeal still in her mouth.

“Why would a vampire need a spare coffin?” Yong countered, carefully nudging the giant box with a slippered toe and checking to see if something would rattle inside. It was a large box, almost three feet in height, yet the delivery man didn’t seem out of breath at all when he rang their doorbell to drop it off. “Besides,” Yong added, “It’s too small to be a coffin anyway.”

“Could be one of those self-assembly-type situations.” Wheein said. Earlier, Yong and Byul had tried to get her to sniff at the box to see if she could determine what was inside, but aside from the overwhelming scent of cardboard and packaging styrofoam, she couldn’t discern much else.

“Last time I checked, Ikea doesn’t offer coffins alongside their cabinets,” Yong said, which effectively ended the conversation for the moment. 

A few hours later, Wheein tripped over the package in her scramble to find her sneakers at the hyeon gwan. Byul had to move it to the living room coffee table, so that it would at least stop blocking the door.

“It’s blocking the TV,” Yong said, not even looking up from the book she was reading. “There’s nowhere else to place it,” Byul countered, circling the box again. “It has the Jeonju coven seal.” The demon added.

Yong put her book aside to stand next to Byul, both of them tilting their head at the very obvious seal on one side of the box. “Huh, that wasn’t there earlier.”

“It probably was,” Byul traced the raised edges of the seal with her finger.

“Did we check if it came with a letter?” It was Yong’s turn to circle the package now, crouching low to see if they also missed an attached envelope. Byul shook her head.

“Not that I could see. If there was, it’s probably inside the box.”

The angel pondered the box again before looking up at the closed door that she knew was Hyejin’s room. “It would be bad if we woke her right?”

“It’s rare that she gets a full day’s rest,” the demon agreed, idly picking at the packaging tape. Yongsun slapped her fingers away. “We just have to wait for tonight and ask her to open it before she leaves for work.”

“Right.”

“Shall we order in?”

“Right!”

Later on in the day, it was Wheein who found the letter. Just as she was coming back from helping one of her friends set up their exhibit at a gallery, she noticed a nondescript envelop just outside their door. It had Hyejin’s name on it.

“The mystery continues!” Wheein announced as she entered their apartment. She caught sight of her the Unnies huddled over at the dining table, playing a video game on a tablet.

“Welcome back,” Byul said absently, her shoulders moving along to the tiny avatar she was controlling on the screen. Yong let out small noise, and was equally as engrossed.

“I found a letter for Hyejin outside our door,” Wheein continued toeing her shoes off and hanging up her beanie on the rack, “do you think it might have slipped off the box when the delivery man dropped off the package?”

When she looked up, both Yong and Byul had abandoned the game completely, instead staring at her with no small amount of shock. “There was a letter?” Yong had tried for nonchalance, but her tone ended up more along the lines of manic.

Once Wheen held it up, Yong and Byul were at her side instantly. The corners of the envelope were a bit crumpled, and there was already a small tear in the center from where it must have been ripped off from the box during the delivery. Just inside they could make out a brief note.

“It would be rude of us to read a letter meant for Hyejinie,” Wheein said, one finger just idly slipping past the seam where the envelope had ripped. All three of them glanced at the package again, sometime during the day, Yong had moved it from the living room coffee table to the foot of the stairs so she could watch TV. 

“We could say there wasn’t an envelope to begin with,” Byul hedged, fingers twitching toward the envelope in Wheein’s hand. Yong clicked her tongue, head shaking disapprovingly .

“No, no, no, no. We have to respect our roommate’s privacy!” Yong moved to grab the letter from Wheein’s hand and place it with the box, instead, the motion ended up tearing the envelope in half, the letter inside fluttering lamely to the floor. 

The three of them stared at it for a beat then gave each other a quick look before all three scrambled to pick it up, elbows colliding every which way. In the end, Byul was the fastest. She held it up for all of them to read at the same time. 

_Hyejin,_

_You left him behind. We thought about keeping him around, but at the end of the day, he caused too much conflict within the coven. Besides, we figured you would need him for your new life in Seoul._

There was no signatory, but the Jeonju coven seal marked the bottom of the letter.

“What the heck does that mean?”

“Who’s ‘he’?”

They all turned from the letter, to the box, it’s presence now more ominous than ever. It was at that moment that the door to Hyejin’s room creaked open. There was a wordless scramble to hide the letter, which somehow ended up crumpled into a ball and stuffed into the pocket of Yong’s pajamas.

“Hyejin-ah! You’re awake!” The angel called out, her voice cracking a bit and pitched up what higher than it normally was. Byul and Wheein fought to keep a straight face. “A package arrived for you!”

“Oh?” The vampire trudged slowly down the stairs, voice still hoarse from sleep, with tendrils of her long hair escaping from the bun she wore to keep her hair out of her face while she slept. Hyejin took one look at the box, eyes widening slightly at the seal of her old coven on it, then craned her neck a bit, as if searching for something. “Did it come with a letter?” Hyejin asked.

“Uhm--”

“Yong read it!” Byul said, grinning mischievously as she reached into Yong’s pocket to pull out the crumpled mess of a letter. Yong stared at the demon in disbelief, before lifting a hand to smack Byul in the shoulder for the betrayal.

“We’re sorry,” Yong began, handing over the letter to Hyejin, “the envelope ripped accidentally and--”

They watched Hyejin read the contents of the letter once, before scoffing and crumpling it up again, this time chucking the paper in the direction of the nearest bin and walking towards the kitchen.

“What’s with that reaction?” Wheein called out, “and aren’t you going to open your package?”

“I already know what it is,” Hyejin called out, the next sound they heard was her opening the freezer for a packet of frozen blood, which she then proceeded to defrost and heat in the microwave.

“Well we don’t!” Byul didn’t even bother hiding the whine in her voice, “Come on, we’ve been curious all day, at least open it!”

Hyejin reemerged from the kitchen with her thermos of blood, she took a long sip before levelling her roommates with an unimpressed look. “It’s just Wilson.”

The confused silence that followed that statement was long. Yong stared at the box again in horror, “Wilson as in-? Is there a--”

Hyejin cut her off, already vehemently shaking her head and the hand that wasn’t holding her thermos. “Don’t be silly,” At long last she walked over to the box, slicing through the packaging tape with one of her long nails. Once it was opened, she reached inside and pulled out the box’s sole content. A few packing peanuts spilling in the process. Yong, Byul, and Wheein stared at the item in disbelief.

“It’s a giant teddy bear.” Byul said.

“Yeah,” Hyejin patted the bear’s soft head for a bit before, setting him to sit up against one of the box's flaps, “I got him for my eightieth birthday a while back.”

“But, the letter said he causes conflict in your coven,” Wheein said. From the box, Wilson slumped forward a bit, causing his head to press forward into the soft bulge of his plush stomach.

“It’s an inside joke in the coven,” Hyejin explained, “People are always trying to borrow him and it somehow ends up--”

“Can I hold him?” Wheein suddenly asked, moving to stand up 

“Wait, I’ve been waiting all day for this box to open, I want to hold him!” Byul was already walking over. 

“Not after you blamed me for reading the letter!” Yong chimed in, grabbing at the hem of Byul’s shirt and pulling her back, “I should get to hold him before you.”

Before Hyejin could take control of the situation, all three of her roommates pounced at the bear, grabbing at it and shrieking in fits of laughter as each person tried to get a hug in before the others. Hyejin watched the chaos with equal amounts of exasperation, shock, and fondness.

“Let me hug it once!”

“Unnie your wings are going to poke my eyes out!”

“Get off you’re so heavy!”

“Ends up like that,” Hyejin mumbled to herself. Amidst the whirlwind of three supernatural beings wrestling each other over a large stuffed animal, she saw Wilson’s plush head wave from side to side. He really was a cute teddy bear. Hyejin sighed in the tone of the long suffering, still there was a wry smile on her face as she walked over to the shelf to grab a decorative gong. She struck it once to test the sound, and then a second time to grab her roommates’ attention. 

“Everyone, honestly!”

Yong, Byul, and Wheein, were lying in a rumpled heap on the floor, laughing and gasping. Wilson had been chucked off to the side in the scuffle. Hyejin walked over and picked him up, pressing her face into the soft down of his plush head. “You can all borrow Wilson one at a time, until then, he’ll be in my room!”

All three roommates were smiling up at her and the bear, and if Hyejin hugged Wilson a bit more possessively after that, she figured she couldn’t be blamed.

He belonged to her first, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me more prompts for future chapters in the comments section. I'm also on [twitter](http://twitter.com/_punsandroses_) if you just wanna say hi and be friends!
> 
> (please be my friend)


	9. So What Really Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was an unending source of frustration for Hyejin that she could never get a straight answer from The Unnies whenever she tried to ask about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is an OT4-centric fic, I try to reign in my inner moonsun shipper so that it's more focused on the girls' friendship. Still, I've received multiple comments asking how Yong and Byul met and got together in this universe and while this chapter doesn't EXACTLY answer the question it is a precursor to my next announcement:
> 
> I'm writing a spin-off fic to All Seoul's Street PURELY dedicated to how moonsun met, became friends, got together, THE WHOLE SHEBANG. I'll be posting it as it's own standalone fic so keep an eye out for that in the near future!

It was an unending source of frustration for Hyejin that she could never get a straight answer from The Unnies whenever she tried to ask about their relationship.

The first time, she hadn’t even really been thinking about it. It was her first week since moving to Seoul and her and Byul were left alone at the apartment. Wheein was out with friends and Yong was out walking their neighbor’s dog as a sort of favor. It was meant to be a passing thing, a way to start conversation.

“Unnie, how did you and Yongsun-unnie meet?”

Byul had looked up from her laptop where she had been sorting through photos from a shoot and gave a single smirk that made her look more devilish than any other demon Hyejin had come across. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” The demon replied, teasing. 

That had been the start of it all.

Since then, she’s tried to be subtle, inserting carefully worded questions into conversations with Byul in the hopes to get the demon to slip up. Every time, Byul’s eyes just flash playfully while she keeps her mouth shut. Or worse, she outright lies.

Once, Hyejin had been flipping through channels randomly on the TV when she passed by a documentary about the infamous Park Chung-hee assassination. Beside her, Byul had chuckled while scrolling through her phone.

“That was a hectic day, Chung-hee was assassinated right when Yong had finally agreed to go out with me.”

Hyejin practically fell off the sofa.

“Really?”

When she looked up, Byul was snickering into her phone. After Yongsun had gotten back from dog walking, Hyejin had complained about what happened. The angel had simply shook her head in disapproval. She was smiling though.

“Don’t believe everything this demon tells you,” the angel had said knowingly, passing by Byul and giving her a quick pinch on the shoulder. Byul had looked up at Yong with a smile. Hyejin had rolled her eyes and scoffed. 

Another time, she had come back home in the wee hours of the morning to a drunk demon, nursing a half-finished bottle of soju alone at the dining table. Wheein had mentioned before that Byul sometimes had moments of ennui and that it was best to let her deal with it on her own. What Hyejin saw however, was an opportunity.

She had approached carefully, checking to make sure Byul was at least, still awake enough to hear her. When she turned to Hyejin with a glassy expression, she put on her best comforting smile.

“Are you alright, Unnie?”

Byul had nodded, once, head tipping dangerously close to the table. Hyejin had to reach out a hand to steady her.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Byul shook her head.

 _Now or never_ , Hyejin thought to herself, “Can you tell me how you and Yongsun-unnie met?” She winced, hoping Byul was too drunk to notice how forward she was being. The demon just levelled her with a long stare before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“Angel.” Byul said, between fits of laughter. 

Hyejin tried again, “Yes, Yongsun is an angel. How did you meet her?”

Byul just kept laughing, “Yeba angel,” she said this time, her laughter going soft until she let out a soft snore and was, effectively, asleep. Hyejin sighed out in frustration. Failed again. She debated briefly with herself if she should even make an attempt to move Byul to the sofa when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Yongsun was there, with a tired look to her eyes and concern written all over her face.

Hyejin decidedly kept her mouth shut as she helped Yongsun carry Byul back to their bedroom.

Speaking of the angel, Yong wasn’t much help either. When it became clear that the demon was never going to give her a proper answer, Hyejin had tried asking Yong, to even lesser success. She had set an alarm to wake up earlier than usual for her, while the sun was still out. To catch Yong at home while Byul and Wheein were out at work.

“Unnie, how did you end up going out with Byulie-unnie?” She had asked once she found Yong preparing a snack in the kitchen. The angel almost dropped the entire plate of french fries she had just finished making.

Yong had looked at her, wide-eyed and blushing. 

“Well, s-she asked and I agreed.” Yong spluttered, a traitorous blush creeping up her neck as she quickly turned around and made a beeline for the living room, her wings very nearly smacking both Hyejin in the face. 

“Is that it?” Hyejin called after her, frustrated. Yongsun had been too flustered to answer anything else she tried to ask.

When Byul had heard what happened later that evening, she didn’t stop laughing the entire night.

Now, five months since she had first asked, she was no closer to finding any form of closure. Hyejin had woken up after only four hours of sleep, and instead of retreating back to her room, she had gone downstairs instead, only to find that Wheein was on the second day of her full moon transformation and The Unnies had gone out to eat lunch because it was, coincidentally, their anniversary.

“I don’t understand why they don’t just tell me,” she grumbled to Wheein. The wolf only looked up at her sympathetically. She had learned, shortly after the first time she asked, that Wheein knew just about as much as she did. As far as both of them were concerned, Yong and Byul had always just been _Yong &Byul _, no spaces. 

Wheein shifted until her long snout was pillowed on Hyejin’s lap. She let out a single huff, which Hyejin took to mean, _Just give up already_.

“I’m not giving up until I get a straight answer,” Hyejin said, determined. On her lap, Wheein gave out a quick grunt _, Suit yourself, but leave me out of it._ They stayed that way for a while, Hyejin sighed, pondering maybe going back to sleep just like this. For lack of anything better to do, she let her eyes wander. In the months she’d been living here, she never gave much thought to the random items that decorated the apartment. Now that she took the time, she realized there were a few things worth noticing.

“Is that an old Hyŏpyul-sa poster?” Hyejin said out loud, apropos of nothing when the framed item caught her eye. Wheein took her head off Hyejin’s lap, ears perking up. Hyejin stood up to inspect the item hanging just near the staircase. “It’s probably from the Joseon Dynasty,” Hyejin said aloud. The paper had yellowed with age and the painted figures were practically faded, but there was no mistaking the lettering on top that advertised Hyŏpyul-sa.

She looked around the room with new eyes. On the bookshelf that separated the living room from the dining room, were a series of photographs. A black and white photo of an angel with her back turned, only distinguished by her wings, Yongsun’s wings. The messily scrawled date on the corner read 1910. 

There was a photo of Yongsun by a temple, in forties clothing. Yongsun by the Han River, in sixties clothing this time. Hanging above the dining table, there was a framed photo of Byul with her back turned, staring out at the sea in Jeju dated in the eighties. On the refrigerator, there was an old photograph of Byul and Yong together, standing in front of their apartment building, the timestamp on it from the nineties.

There were photos of Yong and Byul from various moments in Korea’s history all over the apartment, and for the first time, it truly dawned on Hyejin just how old The Unnies were. From the sofa, Wheein was staring at her, something like realization in her wide brown wolf eyes, an expression that surely mirrores what Hyejin was realizing as well.

“Is all this--” Before she could finish the question, the door to their apartment opened. Yong and Byul were back.

“You’re so stingy, let me see it before you print it out!” Yong whined, while she shrugged off her cardigan and hung it by the hyeon gwan.

“No way,” the demon laughed, toeing off her own shoes and taking Yong’s bag from her as she went. “It’s going to be a surprise. You’ll have to wait until it’s framed and hanging just like the rest. I’m thinking by the wall near our closet?”

Hyejin and Wheein exchanged a look.

“Oh, Hyejin-ah? You’re up early,” Yong said as she passed on her way to the stairs. 

“Couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled, unsure if Yong even heard her. The angel had already ascended the steps and turned toward the bathroom.

“We brought home some pastries from the cafe!” Byul announced proudly, holding up an artfully tied paper bag, she placed it on the dining table before pulling up the camera that had been hanging from her shoulder, switching it on and clicking through the photos.

Hyejin watched her for a moment. On the sofa, Wheein looked from the demon to the vampire before barking once. Byul reached out an absentminded hand, finding the spot behind Wheein’s ears that she favored as a wolf and giving her a few scratches.

“You take a lot of photos of Yongsun-unnie, huh?” Hyejin finally asked, moving back toward the sofa and sitting down on Wheein’s other side. The corner of Byul’s mouth turned upward, she didn't look up from her camera.

“She’s my favorite muse,” Byul said, simply. No trace of teasing or irony to her words at all.

“I can tell,” Hyejin replied. At that, Byul finally looked up, staring at Hyejin for a long while before looking around the room herself. Hyejin didn’t have to track the movement to know that her Unnie was also looking at the various photographs displayed around the apartment. Photographs of Yong that only Byul could have taken. Or vice versa.

When Byul finally turned to look at her again, her usual teasing smirk was softer now. More warm. “You can, can you? Well it’s not like it’s a secret how much I like taking pictures of her.”

Hyejin nodded, feeling the last of her months-long curiosity finally go to rest.

“Are you spouting some greasy nonsense again?” Yong said, emerging from the bedroom, this time in a baggy striped shirt and a pair of shorts.

Byul laughed, not even denying it. Instead, leaning back against the sofa and crossing her legs in front of her. “It’s still our anniversary. I’m allowed.”

“Gross,” Yong said, but she was smiling. “You guys want fried chicken for dinner? I can order it now so Hyejin can have some before she leaves for work.”

Hyejin smiled, slinging an arm around Wheein and cuddling the wolf close. She could only hope that when she finally experienced love, it would be just like what The Unnies have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In any universe, there's only one person in the world Byul loves taking pictures of. Amirite? Leave a comment or a kudos if you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Also, feel free to interact with me on twitter where I do majority of my moonsun shipping and mamamoo fangirling.


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